UKRAINE, Nov. 6 — Russian troops are trying to push Ukraine’s defence forces from the southern part of Vovchansk, reported Viktor Trehubov, a spokesman for the Joint Forces military group, on Ukrainian state TV. 

On the Vovchansk axis, Trehubov says, the situation is more complicated than in Kupiansk. In Vovchansk, according to him, there are fewer Ukrainian troops, and the frontline is more even than in the eastern city.

Vovchansk, a city north of Kharkiv, is located just 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the Russian border. It became one of the targets of the Russian ground offensive on Kharkiv Oblast in 2024, along with Lypsi. 

Military experts say that one of the goals of the Russian army in the northern Kharkiv region is to get into a range that’ll allow them to target Kharkiv with tube artillery. 

Geolocation data from the Institute for the Study of War also confirms the Russian advance in Vovchansk. 

Trehubov claims that Ukraine’s forces counterattacked in the northern Kupiansk and are pushing Russians back. But the situation is unstable, he says.

“Russians are trying to seize some buildings (with shelters — ed.), gather their forces there and then advance forward,” Trehubov said. There have been reports of Russians getting into the residential buildings of the city since August. 

Russian forces, according to the ISW, have recently advanced in the center of Kupiansk. 

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