Ukrainian forces confirmed that a russian colonel killed in Kharkiv fighting was taken out while directing attacks near the border. The Operative-Strategic Group of Forces Khortytsia, a Ukrainian military command on the eastern front, said Col. Lebedev, commander of the 83rd motorized rifle regiment of the 69th motorized rifle division, died as he tried to push assaults forward in the Velykyi Burluk direction.
Russian colonel killed in Velykyi Burluk sector clashes
The Ukrainian command reported late on 26 July that defenders destroyed the officer who had led storming operations aimed at widening Russia’s small foothold west of the Kupiansk front. The command's report mentions only the last name of the eliminated colonel, Lebedev.
Earlier, Oleksii Rozumnyi from the 13th brigade of the National Guard unit Hartiia said Russian forces are using these border attacks to pull Ukrainian reserves into the area. According to him, the occupiers have shifted tactics since the time of the Kursk offensive. They now focus more on logistics strikes and use drones equipped with fiber optics to hit deep, sometimes almost reaching Kharkiv city.
Escalating fighting east of Vovchansk
Reports also describe heavy clashes east of Vovchansk — a border town further west of Velykyi Burluk, where Russian troops have tried to break through Ukrainian defenses and move in the direction of Velykyi Burluk.
Read also
-
While Washington eases up on Russia, Europe hits back harder: EU plans to pass its largest sanctions package on Russia’s war machine in two days
-
Trump’s Russian diesel deal, which drew fury in Ukraine, is unlikely to lower prices, experts say
-
Ukraine shares its fortification know-how with Estonia’s new defense minister, weeks after 70-million-euro shells scandal felled his predecessor
