President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Friday that Ukrainian forces had secured "combat control" over areas in northern parts of the Kharkiv region where Russian troops had staged an incursion earlier this month. In his nightly video address, Zelenskyy stated, "Our soldiers have now managed to take combat control of the border area where the Russian occupiers entered," following a meeting with military and regional officials in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city.
These statements appear to contrast with comments from Russian officials. Viktor Vodolatskiy, a member of Russia's State Duma, was quoted by the Tass news agency claiming that Russian forces controlled more than half of the town of Vovchansk, located 5 km (three miles) inside the border. Vodolatskiy mentioned that once Vovchansk was secured, Russian forces would target Sloviansk, Kramatorsk, and Pokrovsk in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region.
Independent verification of these battlefield accounts has not been possible. However, earlier reports indicated that Russian forces had pushed into border regions of Ukraine's Kharkiv region, with Russia's Defence Ministry claiming control over about 12 settlements.
Zelenskyy and other Ukrainian officials have reported progress in "stabilizing" the area. The Ukrainian military's General Staff described the situation in Vovchansk as "tense but controlled by the defense forces" in their evening report. They mentioned that the Russian army had launched air strikes on Vovchansk, with eight guided bombs hitting the town, and attacks were also reported on at least two other settlements north of Kharkiv.
The General Staff's late-night report noted that Ukrainian forces had repelled 10 Russian attacks in the area, including around Vovchansk. It also acknowledged Russian forces' "partial success" in areas near Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region and the Pokrovsk sector, where heavy fighting has been ongoing in the Donetsk region.
Ukrainian military bloggers reported that Ukrainian troops were maintaining their positions around Vovchansk, with Russian forces resorting to firing from a distance with limited accuracy and using fewer infantry in the area.
