UKRAINE, Jul 23 — The former commander of the 125th Brigade of the Territorial Defense Force, Artur Horbenko, said in an interview with Ukrainska Pravda that during the May Russian offensive, one of their battalions was only 50% equipped, while others were up to 70%.

In May of this year, the Russians crossed the Ukrainian border in two directions, the village of Lyptsi (six miles from the border, 12 miles from Kharkiv.) and the city of Vovchansk (three miles from the border, 46 miles away from Kharkiv) in the Kharkiv region, advancing as deep as 10 km within their new offensive. 

Later, there was information that the 125th Lviv Territorial Defense Brigade, which was defending this area, could not repel the Russians properly and quickly withdrew. Criminal proceedings were opened against the command of the 125th Brigade.

Artur Horbenko, who headed the repulsion of the Russian offensive on Lyptsi axis, said his battalion didn’t have enough resources to “maintain defense during such an offensive.”

According to Horbenko, two battalions of his brigade have just left the Kreminna direction (Luhansk Oblast), where they had been fighting a couple of months before the new Russian offensive. 

The 415th rifle battalion of one of the brigades operating under 125th came to the north of Kharkiv region after fighting near Bakhmut (Donetsk region), where they suffered severe losses and sustained injuries. 

The fourth one, the 172nd Battalion of the Vinnytsia Territorial Defense, had no combat experience.

Horbenko said that when the Russians started their new offensive in the Kharkiv region, the Vinnytsia battalion was the most equipped at over 70%. The two battalions of 125th Brigade were 60% equipped, and the 415th Rifle Brigade was 50% equipped.

Horbenko noted that the structure of the Territorial Defense Force battalions does not include heavy weaponry. The most powerful weapon they have is an 82-mm mortar battery. “Then, the rifle battalion did not have even that. They only had a platoon with two mortars, that’s it,” Horbenko said. 

Ukrainian troops have stabilized the frontline north of Kharkiv since May, redeploying units from other directions of the frontline to protect Ukraine’s second-largest city. Now, heavy battles are ongoing both on Lyptsi and Vovchansk axes. 

The “Kharkiv” group of forces reported that the Russians continued to attack near Hlyboke with assault groups unsuccessfully. They are trying to regroup and replace the units that have lost their combat capability.

The “Kharkiv” group of forces reported that Russia is currently preparing assault groups of three brigades for attacks in Vovchansk. 

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  • In the Kharkiv direction, there were ten combat clashes near Hlyboke and Vovchansk over the past day, reported the General Staff reported.