Ukraine war: Vovchansk – a key target of the new Russian offensive

Ukraine war: Vovchansk – a key target of the new Russian offensive

[Music] Russia launched its biggest Invasion into Ukraine since the start of the fullscale war ground troops backed by Jets drones and artillery pushed across the border into harv region in the Northeast Russian forces claim to have captured more than 40 square miles of territory along the frontier but the Ukrainian military is fighting back a key Battleground is the town of V Chans and the Village of lipy to the West we’ve been reporting on the front line this is what we’ve witnessed every moment on the ground in the town of V Chans is high risk Russian forces launched a surprise attack from across their border overnight and all residents have been advised to leave this town went through Russia’s initial fulls scale invasion in 2022 it then endured the Russian occupation it was liberated when Ukrainian forces pushed the Russians back and now it’s under Terror once more Russian attacks and people being told to evacuate hundreds have fled vob Chans and the surrounding area since the morning mainly the elderly all look tired and terrified at night war planes were dropping bombs there were so many it seemed like the heavens were exploding it was so scary so LED how are you feeling we were living under occupation we have lived through a lot of things both of us were tortured and interrogated by the [Music] Russians this town is a war zone he says the blaze must be stopped because it could spread and pensioners live here I was in my apartment there was a huge explosion and all the shards of glass fell down on me the bomb landed here just a bit earlier you can see it’s left a devastating crater it’s blasted this house residents civilians were living here there’s a civilian residential block next door people are panicking that the fire in here is going to ignite fires in their homes too they’re terrified they’re confused people don’t want to leave even though help is here to evacuate them they say they want to sort out their belongings first it’s a it’s absolute chaos we didn’t sleep at all last night there was shelling they hit the hospital next to us and all our Windows shattered we head further into V Chans the Town Center lies in Ruins some damage had been inflicted by previous Russian shelling over recent months but then this place was targeted in a major assault early on Friday morning residents have been told to flee but now and then there’s the shortest glimpse of Life the center of the town is absolutely devastated buildings destroyed we can hear the sound of explosions it’s empty there’s clearly a battle still going on here Russia is attacking from multiple directions but this is the quickest route to the regional capital of harv we’ve seen smoke in the trees as we went past there’s also smoke up ahead which looks like it’s from a fresh strike it’s Eerie there’s been cars racing past us there’s not much sign of life it does feel very tense the village of ruski tishi was battered by Russian strikes in the first months of the war but families like this couple ventured back after it was liberated by the ukrainians now they’re fleeing again we were here yesterday and the sounds were far away today it’s closer much much closer but as the human misery grows criticism is mounting about why the Border wasn’t better defended footage on social media appears to show Russian troops simply walking in unchallenged no sign of any fortifications are they are they Russian yes yes Russian troops inside the Border Town of vob Chans earlier today this Drone footage was shared exclusively with Sky News by a Ukrainian Soldier who’s also on the ground battling the assault this is just the first wave they are testing our defenses they’re preparing their artillery when they completely enter the town they will bring in their reserves as they scan the terrain looking for targets there’s frustration that Ukraine is once again having to battle an invasion in the Northeast 2 years after Russia’s last assault Dennis believes his side should have built better defenses it’s shocking we are having to defend ourselves again losing territory and the lives of soldiers this time the enemy came much more prepared that includes drones and large bombs this feed gives a sense of the Carnage this is the our scour of V Chans the Russians are evacuating the wounded his team relays the coordinates to another unit moments later there’s a strike seemingly on the Russian position they work relentlessly into the night trying to defend their land perhaps surprisingly there’s no sense of panic here and officials say their defensive lines around the city are strong but with Russian forces slowly gaining ground it may well only be a matter of time before those assurances are put to the test we can’t see the jet but it’s most likely Ukrainian on the attack heading towards the front line it’s not long before there are more signs of battle we want to reach a Ukrainian military point but are suddenly told to stop a voice over the radio says don’t come here don’t come at all we’re trying to get to an artillery position just outside V Chans but we’ve just been told to pull over because they’ve started firing they’ve told us that we might not be able to go forward because it’s too dangerous at the moment Ukraine is belatedly hardening its defenses but the last few days show they’ve already been badly breached we visit a second artillery position on the new front line that spans some 40 miles this place is close to the Russian border which is where the gun is pointed it also points to a major problem that magnifies the already Monumental challenge posed by Russia’s Advance we are saving our artillery shells right now we fire one they fire back five our guys are dying because the West is not supplying us with enough weapons a second Soldier agrees the enemy has a lot more than we do if you had more ammunition what difference would it make it would increase the number of dead Russians 100% the guns fired five times today but we’ve been told they would fire more if they had more ammunition also they’d like a newer gun they call this one grandma because it’s so old the ultimate definition of battling against the odds outgunned and outnumbered but not outdone

On 10 May Russia launched its biggest invasion into Ukraine since the start of the full-scale war. Russian ground troops pushed across the border into the Kharkiv region in the northeast.

Sky’s Deborah Haynes reports from the town of Vovchansk – a key target of the Russian offensive.

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