Russian soldier reveals horrors of Vovchansk offensive
8:49 AM EDT, June 3, 2024
The Russians launched an offensive in the Kharkiv region by capturing Vovchansk. The Ukrainians had previously evacuated civilians and withdrawn to the south. One of the Russian soldiers reveals what the fighting for the city looked like. He speaks of carnage, the death of his comrades-in-arms, and orders that caused his comrades to die one after another.
In May, the Russians launched an offensive in the Kharkiv region. The operation was limited to towns located near the border, and the aggressor achieved some tactical successes.
Putin's army captured Vovchansk. Experts pointed to several possible scenarios of how the situation might develop. Some indicated that it was preparation for an attack on Kharkiv. Others claimed that the invaders wanted to create a buffer zone to prevent Ukrainians from striking Russia on its territory.
Russian on the situation in Vovchansk
A recording appeared online in which one of the Russian soldiers described the Russian operation that led to the capture of Vovchansk.
They told us they would send us just to the border. Instead, they threw us into the damn tree line along with the 6th company that was next to us. The operation did not start on time. They pushed us forward, under mortar fire - the Russian describes.
As he adds, the first night, there were many wounded and killed. Despite this, they were constantly ordered to move forward despite the heavy losses inflicted by the Ukrainians. Many invaders were killed in the slaughter, their bodies later lying in anti-tank ditches. The soldier admits that he heard on the radio that he and his comrades were ordered not to cease the attack. The next day, the invaders took over Ukrainian positions. When it seemed that the soldier's unit would be replaced by another one for the attack, they were sent to Vovchansk.
They told us to take only our weapons to Vovchansk. When we took one of the streets, we unleashed hell. A group comes and gets sent to storm the street. Initially, everything seemed okay, but then you ended up under mortar, machine gun, and FVP drone fire. Many soldiers were killed. And the commander was yelling on the radio to move forward. We couldn't retreat - the soldier described.
As we learn from the recording, only 12 out of 100 soldiers from the military group to which the narrator belonged survived the attack on Vovchansk unharmed. However, this didn't stop the Russians, as they sent more such units into battle, disregarding losses.
- We were being ground down. It's a massacre.
- Says the soldier on the recording. In conclusion, he noted that all orders come from Moscow and that the Kremlin doesn't care about the number of soldiers killed.