Ukraine holds Vovchansk outskirts amid Russian daily losses of 10-15 soldiers
The eastern and western outskirts, as well as the southern part of Vovchansk in Kharkiv Oblast, are fully under the control of Ukraine's Defense Forces, according to Colonel Ivan Kolontai, deputy commander of the 16th Army Corps.
Ukrainian troops also control the settlements of Lyman, Vilcha and Synelnykove on the Kharkiv axis.
"All enemy attempts to raise their flag in Vovchansk end the same way — they get 'neutralized.' Every day the enemy suffers losses of approximately 10-15 killed and about the same number wounded. That's only what's confirmed by video evidence," Kolontai said.
According to the General Staff, on Wednesday alone Russian forces attacked Ukrainian defenders' positions 17 times near Starytsia, Vovchansk, Synelnykove, Ambarne, Prylipka and toward Kolodiazne and Kutkivka.
According to a "large number" of prisoners of war, Russian soldiers receive orders from their command to advance along a specific route until wounded, with assurances that "their own" will meet them, Kolontai said.
"They always tell them, as the POWs claim: go there, our guys are waiting and will meet you. But in fact, they go one way. They're very rarely lucky enough to get captured. From a military or human perspective, the enemy's losses are, to put it mildly, unjustified compared to their minimal success. But that's only to our advantage. For us, the most valuable thing is preserving our personnel's lives," the colonel said.