Latest news with #Vovchansk
Times
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Times
‘A life of crime taught us how to kill on the front line'
When he pulled a knife and robbed a jewellery shop in President Zelensky's home city of Kryvyhi Rih, the convict and career criminal codenamed 'Makar' was not thinking of a future in the army. Yet since he was freed from prison along with thousands of other Ukrainian convicts last summer on condition they fought at the front, the 47-year-old, now a respected and wounded veteran of Ukraine's 71st Jaeger Brigade, is certain that his life of crime and prison prepared him well for the stresses of war. Makar is proud to have commanded three other convicted thieves — Zippo, Alavarez and Dronik — in an assault team sent up against Russian positions near the gutted city of Vovchansk. 'The adrenaline rush I get in crime
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
City levelled to the ground: soldiers post photos showing Vovchansk in Kharkiv Oblast
Soldiers from the 34th Separate Motorised Infantry Battalion Vovkodavy (part of the 57th Separate Motorised Infantry Brigade) have posted photos from the town of Vovchansk in Kharkiv Oblast, where the Russian offensive began exactly one year ago. Source: The Vovkodavy Battalion Quote: "The battalion was initially deployed in the village of Tykhe. This is on the eastern outskirts of Vovchansk. We stopped the enemy and even carried out offensive operations. Then the decision was made to redeploy us to the city of Vovchansk itself. And from that moment on, we have been in Vovchansk for over 10 months. During this time, we have not lost our positions, and the battalion is holding its defensive area. Next was a large-scale operation to liberate the Aggregate Plant in Vovchansk. After liberating the plant, we conducted a mop-up operation, and it also came under our responsibility." Details: Soldiers said that within a year, the city had been practically levelled to the ground – the difficult conditions of urban combat had become almost impossible, and they had to hold their defences amongst the ruins. Quote: "All that's left of the houses are bricks and concrete debris. Underneath them are tunnels. It's a war conducted in tunnels. We're in tunnels, and the occupiers are in tunnels. We see enemy movement; the infantry comes out and shoots them. That's the whole tactic. It's simple and complicated at the same time." Details: Soldiers noted that no equipment was entering the city and artillery fire was limited. In these conditions, the infantry is coming to the fore. The Russians are conducting daily assaults. "Vovchansk has become a meat grinder for the Russians, into which they constantly throw new cannon fodder," the soldiers write. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
