“We were positioned in the Bakhmut area before, now we have been transferred here. It’s much ‘hotter’ here. We didn’t have shells there. Here, at least we have shells, they started delivering them. We have something to work with, to fight,” said Pavlo, a gunner of Ukraine’s 92nd Separate Assault brigade.The Ukrainian town of Vovchansk, 5 km inside the border, remains the focal point of the incursion. Ukrainian forces control about 60% of the town and are battling to repel Russian attacks. Capturing Vovchansk would be Russia's most significant gain since launching the assault, with Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, just 70 km away. Ukrainian soldiers are confident that the steady supply of shells will continue, as everyone recognizes the importance of holding their line.
“If we can demonstrate now that we are able in such an extreme situation to stop the enemy’s big scale assault on Kharkiv and Kharkiv region, the enemy will not dare to think of attacking Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy or Poltava region,” said Vitalii, commander of the brigade’s artillery unit.In a related development, Ukraine's military reported destroying the last Russian warship armed with cruise missiles stationed in Russian-occupied Crimea. The attack, which targeted a Russian Tsiklon missile ship in Sevastopol on the night of 19 May, allowed Ukraine to seize the initiative in the Black Sea and undermine Moscow's ability to launch missile strikes on Ukrainian territory from the sea. Read more:
- Ukraine takes down 220 Russian soldiers, destroys 32 pieces of equipment on Kharkiv front over last day
- Russia targets energy infrastructure overnight in Sumy Oblast
- Russian morning attack on Chuhuiv in Kharkiv Oblast injures seven people
