Street battles with invading Russian troops in the northeastern Ukrainian border town of Vovchansk have created a ‘volatile’ situation, the region’s governor said on Wednesday.
Russia has been trying to capture the small town five kilometres from its border since launching an offensive in the Kharkiv region last month that has seen Moscow seize large amounts of territory.
‘The situation is volatile. Street fighting continues,’ the head of Kharkiv’s regional administration, Oleg Synegubov, said on Telegram.
Ukraine’s commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrsky said in late May that Russian troops had become ‘bogged down’ in Vovchansk.
Synegubov said that several dozen Russian soldiers are blocked inside an industrial facility in the town.
‘The Russians are trying to break through, but are constantly suffering losses in this area,’ he said.
Russia over the last day used aircraft to attack Vovchansk and other border settlements, he said earlier.
Ukraine’s General Staff said that ‘two enemy attacks are currently underway near Vovchansk. The situation is under control.’
Vovchansk had a pre-war population of around 18,000 people but is now almost deserted as residents have fled the fierce fighting.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday said he went to the front line Donetsk region, where he discussed the military and humanitarian situation with high-ranking commanders.
The visit came a few days after Zelensky replaced the commander of Ukraine’s Joint Forces following criticism, as Kyiv has struggled to hold back Moscow’s troops in the east for months.
‘I started the day in the Donetsk region, together with our soldiers, together with Commander-in-chief (Oleksandr) Syrsky and the new Commander of the Joint Forces, General (Andriy) Gnatov,’ Zelensky said from the city of Pokrovsk.
He added that the newly-appointed Gnatov was ‘a young man, but his knowledge of the frontline and experience are exactly what we need’.
The president appointed Gnatov after a popular military commander accused his predecessor, Yuriy Sodol, of incompetence.
