According to officer Serhiy Tsekhotskyy from the 59th Separate Motorised Infantry Brigade named after Yakiv Handziuk, the Russian occupation army suffered failures in its offensive in the districts of Kurakhove and Pokrovsk.
What is known about the situation in the districts of Kurakhove and Pokrovsk
Tsekhotskyy emphasised that during the day, the occupying army made four attempts to break through in the Kurakhovo region but retreated with numerous losses in personnel and military equipment.
The military added that as of the morning of Monday, May 13, Russian occupiers tried to attack several settlements, including Netaylove, and lost at least 2 BMP-2 in the Pokrovska region.
Tsekhotsky noted that over 40 enemy attacks were recorded in the Pokrovsk region.
The battle for Vovchansk may become the first significant confrontation after the new Russian offensive start
Forbes journalists assume that the intentions of the Russian Federation's occupation army to capture Vovchansk in the border zone north of the Kharkiv region may become the first significant test of the Kremlin invaders after the start of a new offensive.
The authors note that the Armed Forces of Ukraine transferred several brigades to Vovchansk, including the 59th Motorized Rifle Brigade and the 93rd Assault Brigade, which has powerful CV90 infantry fighting vehicles.
It is still too early to say for sure whether the Russian attacks across the Russian-Ukrainian border north of Kharkiv are the first attack of a real offensive or a ruse designed to distract Ukrainian forces from the battlefields in the east. For the residents of Vovchansk, this difference may not matter. Their home is once again a battlefield, the article says.
Journalists recollect that the Ukrainian military liberated Vovchansk after seven months of occupation by Kremlin invaders in 2022.
Now thousands of residents are fleeing, some for the second time in a little more than two years, units of three Russian regiments are approaching the city... Russian troops are deliberately probing for gaps in Ukrainian positions that may be present in Vovchansk and its surroundings. And they concentrate on sectors where geography is advantageous. In the case of Vovchansk, this means approaching the city from the northwest, where the Donets River forms a protective barrier on the right flank of the Russians, the authors of the material emphasise.
At the same time, journalists draw attention to the intensified bombing by the Russian occupiers of Vovchansk, probably with the further aim of strengthening the attack on the city.
If the Russian campaign in the north is a ploy, then its purpose is likely to draw from east to north the Ukrainian brigades defending cities such as Chasiv Yar. If the campaign is a real offensive, whole regiments may attack Vovchansk in the coming days. The dilemma for Ukrainian leaders is that a false maneuver can imperceptibly turn into an offensive, the authors of the material warn.
