UKRAINE, VOVCHANSK, Apr. 16 — The 57th Motorized Brigade regained control over several streets in Vovchansk, which were under Russian control before, said Oleh Kryzhanivskyi, the commander of one of the 57th Brigade’s companies, to Ukrainian media Suspilne.

Vovchansk, a city north of the Kharkiv oblast, was one of the main targets of a Russian offensive in May 2024. Currently, the city is destroyed, and combat clashes there are ongoing.

Kryzhanivskyi said that a special unit of the brigade called Shkval killed “a large number of Russian infantry,” which affected the speed of their advance.

He said that units use FPV drones and heavy attack drones to attack Russians and “get the result” without direct contact with the Russian soldiers.

As for April 2026, Ukrainian military stabilized the situation in Vovchansk and in forest areas west of the city. Kryzhanivskyi said, they set up additional blocking lines and built an echeloned defense.

“But Russians continue to assault with small groups. They attack Synelnykove, Lyman, Vilcha, and Symynivka settlements,” said the commander.

Kryzhanivskyi explained that the Russian small assault groups’ task is to monitor, but, if enough infantry is accumulated, “they could cause harm for Ukraine’s positions in the nearest rear.”

Kryzhanivskyi also said that the Ukrainian units are conducting personnel rotations on the battlefield as often as possible.

Read more

  • Ukraine’s Defence Ministry announces drone assault units as new model of warfare

⚡ The fifth year of the Russian full-scale invasion started, so it’s been four years since most of us here at our Kharkiv-based newsroom became war reporters. Please consider supporting our journalism via a one-time donation — or join our community.