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October 29, 2024The Agence France-Presse (AFP), in collaboration with Bellingcat, investigated the extent of destruction in Vovchansk, which is reportedly even worse than in Bakhmut, where some of the fiercest battles of the war took place.
“What took two to three months in Bakhmut happened in Vovchansk in two to three weeks,” said Ukrainian soldier Denys Yaroslavskyi, who fought in both cities.
According to Tamaz Gambarashvili, 90% of the city center has been leveled. Gambarashvili, now coordinating the remnants of the city from Kharkiv, added that Russian forces continue intense shelling, resulting in every sixth building being destroyed and another 18% damaged—confirmed by satellite images from Bellingcat.
Before the full-scale invasion, Vovchansk had around 20,000 residents. Today, as AFP reports, the city exists only in the memories of those who managed to escape. “We control the city, but what we control is a pile of rubble,” said Yaroslavskyi.
On August 30, Tamaz Gambarashvili reported that Vovchansk was 90% destroyed, with only 20 residents remaining. Before the Russian offensive in May 2024, the liberated Vovchansk had a population of about 3,000.
On August 29, Kharkiv’s Territorial Community reported that Russian forces attempted to break into Vovchansk’s center using armored vehicles, but the assault was repelled. On September 5, the Bohdan Khmelnytsky Presidential Brigade shared images showing Vovchansk almost completely destroyed by Russian forces.
On September 13, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that a Ukrainian Armed Forces operation in Russia’s Kursk region had managed to halt the enemy’s advance toward Kharkiv and slow their movement in Donetsk.
On September 24, Ukrainian forces liberated the Vovchansk Aggregate Plant, clearing out the last of the thirty buildings held by the enemy.
On October 5, the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office reported testimonies from captured Russian soldiers regarding the execution of four Ukrainian soldiers at the Vovchansk plant.