In the Kharkiv Region, there are battles for every settlement - the enemy is trying to surround Vovchansk, whose location provides the Russians with certain additional opportunities, including logistics. It is likely that the enemy may try to bypass the city from two sides.
This is stated in a report by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Analysts note that Russia's offensive efforts to capture Vovchansk (northeast of Kharkiv) are largely a result of the tacit policy of Western countries, which states that the Ukrainian military cannot use the provided weapons to hit legitimate military targets in Russia.
Experts suggest that the occupation forces are trying to surround Vovchansk, approaching the city itself through Buhruvatka, Starytsya, and Izbytske in the west and through Vovchansky Khutory in the east.
"The capture of any of these settlements by Russian troops would cut these Ukrainian ground lines of communication (GLOCs) with Vovchansk and would make the remaining GLOCs increasingly important to the city's defense," the report said.
In addition, it is noted that the Russians are increasingly focusing on bridges - striking to isolate the Ukrainian defence of Vovchansk from other areas.
ISW reports how Ukrainian military observer Kostyantyn Mashovets assessed the situation in Vovchansk, noting that the city is the main focus of Russian efforts in the northern Kharkiv Region. Therefore, Russian troops intend to bypass Vovchansk from the southwest and south.
Mashovets also pointed to the proximity of Vovchansk to the border, which provides Russian troops with ‘many opportunities’, in particular, allowing the enemy to conduct operations with limited forces and means to achieve a specific result. This provides the occupiers with the ability to ensure stable control and fire support without moving artillery, and creates conditions for the rapid delivery of fuel and weapons to the front.
Earlier, Apostrophe reported that Russian troops captured four border villages in Kharkiv Region.