File image.
On December 22, the Russian military dealt another defeat to Kiev forces by capturing Vilcha, located to the south of Vovchansk in Kharkiv.
The 69th Guards Motor Rifle Division of the 6th Army and the 128th Motorized Rifle Brigade of the 44th Army of the Sever [North] Group of Forces broke the last defense line of Ukraine’s 57th Motor Rifle Brigade and 225th Separate Shock Battalion in the southern part of Vilcha, bringing all of the settlement and its outskirt under control.
In a statement, Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov congratulated the command and military personnel of the 69th Guards Motor Rifle Division on the capture of the settlement.
“The servicemen of the formation continue glorious traditions of victorious ancestors achieving high results in carrying out the tasks of the special military operation,” said Belousov.
“Exploits of motorised riflemen of the glorious formation are permanently written in the heroic chronicle of the Army,” he added.
Additional gains by the Sever Group of Forces were reported in other areas around Vovchansk, mainly to the west in the western outskirts of Liman, and to the east, in the western part of Vovchanski Khutory.
After withdrawing from Vilcha, Ukrainian troops began immediately working on building a defense line to the south of the settlement. Failing to do this would allow the Sever Group of Forces to advance south rapidly, towards Zemlyanyi Yar, then possibly towards Bilyi Kolodiaz, a key logistic hub of Ukraine forces.
The Sever Group of Forces also expanded operations to the north in Sumy. Russian troops advanced near Andreevka, and even destroyed a German-made Leopard-2 main battle tank there. Only few such tanks remain in service with Kiev forces, and this was the first time in a long while one has been spotted in Kharkiv.
It’s worth noting that Russian troops crossed the border from Belgorod into Sumy last week and captured all of Vysokoe, in addition to a large part of Grabovskoe. Civilians are now being evacuated from there, which suggests that the troops could advance deeper there in coming days, mainly towards Krasnopillia that is located on one of the key roads leading to the region’s capital.
Click to see full-size map.
The recent gains of the Sever Group of Forces suggest that Kiev forces in Kharkiv and Sumy are now suffering from the same shortages and command issues they have been facing in Donetsk, Dnepropetrovsk, and Zaporozhye for the last few months. The situation will only get worse during the winter.
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good news except for nazis
natostan is rushing to build defense lines to slow or stop russian offensives and create a conflict freeze to create a new nato defense boarder with russia. a restart is always the plan. international shipping control is just another target. hydrocarbon vessels and transporting is an obvious focus point