Russian forces do not control Vovchansk – Defense Forces

Viktor Trehubov, head of the Communications Department of the Joint Forces Grouping, stated this during a TV broadcast, Ukrinform’s correspondent reports.

"There [in Vovchansk] the Russians are also issuing many announcements, especially regarding the outskirts of the city. They have already claimed they took the city, and they also claimed they took Vilcha," Trehubov noted.

According to him, Russian statements about capturing Vilcha do not correspond to reality.

"In fact, the so-called capture of Vilcha is merely an attempt by the Russians to advance on Vilcha with heavy losses on their side and without success," he emphasized.

He added that, unlike Kupiansk, Russian troops are present in Vovchansk in large numbers, but this does not mean they control the city.

"They are indeed present in large numbers in the city of Vovchansk, unlike in Kupiansk, and there is at least control over certain districts, but on the other hand, there is no control over the city as a whole," Trehubov explained.

Trehubov also said that after events in the Kupiansk direction, the Russian command has become more cautious in reports about alleged successes.

"All these, so to speak, 'promises' with which they feed their own leadership have also started to be served more cautiously now, because they looked at the Kupiansk direction and drew conclusions for themselves," he said.

Trehubov noted that at the same time Russian troops continue trying to break through on the outskirts of Vovchansk, in particular from the west, in an attempt to outflank Ukrainian defense forces.

"They are trying to operate, including on the outskirts of the city, including west of the city, attempting to break through and bypass the Ukrainian forces holding the defense there," Trehubov said. According to him, so far these attempts have been unsuccessful.

"As of now, they are not succeeding, and there is strong hope that they will not succeed at all," he concluded.

As Ukrinform reported, over the past day there were 151 combat engagements between the Defense Forces of Ukraine and Russian troops, with the heaviest pressure exerted by the enemy in the Pokrovsk and Huliaipole directions.

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