“Kharkiv OTU refuted the ISW information that the Armed Forces entered the aggregate plant in Vovchansk on September 17, 17:37 Share: Vovchansk in the Kharkiv region (Photo: Separate presidential brigade named after Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky / Facebook) As of September 17, on the territory of the Vovchansk aggregate plant military personnel of the Russian Federation continue to stay at the plant. This was reported by the spokesman of the Kharkiv operational-tactical group, Vitaly Sarantsev, in a comment for Suspilny. Earlier, on September 16, the Institute of Study”, — write on: ua.news
Vovchansk in the Kharkiv region (Photo: Separate presidential brigade named after Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky / Facebook)
As of September 17, military personnel of the Russian Federation continue to be present on the territory of the Vovchan Aggregate Plant. This was reported by the spokesman of the operational-tactical group Kharkiv, Vitaly Sarantsev, in a comment for Suspilny.
Earlier, on September 16, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) suggested that Ukrainian forces may have liberated the plant based on a video released by so-called Russian warlords.
“Geolocated footage published on September 16 shows Russian troops attempting to strike Ukrainian positions at the Vovchan Aggregate Plant in the center of Vovchansk. This indicates that the Armed Forces have recently regained their lost positions on the territory of the plant, where the Russian occupiers were previously,” the ISW publication said.
However, the spokesperson of OTU Kharkiv denied this information. According to him, Ukrainian troops do not occupy positions at the enterprise, and the buildings are still occupied by Russian military personnel, who have been blocked there since May.
“They [російські військові] day before yesterday [15 вересня] tried to shell the city districts, locations adjacent to the aggregate plant. But they took aim at each other, friendly fire happened. Currently, there are ongoing fighting in that area of the city. ISWs, let’s say, do not have full information,” says Sarantsev.
What is known about the situation in Vovchansk
On August 30, the head of the Vovchansk MBA, Tamaz Gambarashvili, reported that Vovchansk was 90% destroyed, and only 20 residents remained. According to him, before the Russian offensive in May 2024, about 3,000 residents lived in the deoccupied Vovchansk.
On August 29, Kharkiv OTG reported that the Russians tried to break through armored vehicles into the center of Vovchansk, but the assault was repulsed.
On August 25, the spokesman of the Kharkiv operational-tactical group, Vitaly Sarantsev, stated that Russian military personnel remain at the aggregate plant in Vovchansk, Kharkiv region, and have been blocked there for several months. A representative of Kharkiv Technical University reported that at first there were about 40 Russian military personnel at the plant. According to him, the occupiers are suffering losses there, there are dead and wounded.
On September 13, Volodymyr Zelenskyi said that thanks to the operation of the Armed Forces of Russia in the Russian Kursk region, it was possible to stop the enemy in the Kharkiv direction and slow down their advance in the Donetsk region.