Vovchansk and Lyman: Ukrainian military reveals Russia's plans for January
Photo: In January, Russia plans to bypass Vovchansk and advance toward Lyman (Getty Images)
Russia's plans for January have already become clear, particularly in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region. The Russian forces are planning to bypass Vovchansk and advance toward Lyman, said Viktor Trehubov, head of the communications department of the Joint Forces grouping.
According to him, there have been no highly active clashes in recent days.
"The Russians are carrying out active regrouping. It seems that, among two tactics — either trying to terrorize us during the holidays or easing off slightly during the holidays and shifting to probing and redeploying troops — they chose the latter. In effect, they are now more focused on probing our defensive lines across our entire area of responsibility and regrouping their forces," Trehubov said.
At the same time, he noted that enemy behavior along the front line from the Sumy region to the Donetsk region clearly indicates that Russia already has defined plans for January.
"It is already obvious that they have objectives for January: to bypass Vovchansk, eliminate the Ukrainian bridgehead east of Kupiansk, advance toward Lyman, and carry out infiltration in Lyman," the spokesperson emphasized.
He added that the enemy failed to carry out these plans in the autumn and will fail again now.
Trehubov also said that there were no active assaults in the village of Dvorichna in the Kharkiv region over the past day, but this does not mean the situation is calm there.
"It only means that the Russians are preparing to resume them in the coming days," he said.
Trehubov stressed that it is now crucial to prevent the enemy from crossing the Oskil River, as once it freezes, Russian forces may attempt to cross it even without watercraft.
Commenting on reports of Russian troop movements from the Svatove direction toward Kupiansk, Trehubov confirmed that transfers of enemy forces are indeed being recorded from less active directions and from within Russia.
At the same time, he said Russian forces are losing 300–350 personnel every day.
Fighting near Vovchansk
Earlier, Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported that the situation in Vovchansk, Kharkiv region, remains stable, although the enemy is attempting to bypass the city and expand its control zone.
As a result, the main challenge at present is not a direct assault on Vovchansk, but constant attempts by Russian forces to encircle the city and create a bridgehead for further operations.
Ukrainian forces remain in control of the situation and respond swiftly to any enemy attempts to advance in this area.
Inside Vovchansk itself, Russian troops are trying to push forward in the city’s southwestern part, where heavy fighting is ongoing.
