Putin beordrar styrkor att gå in i Ukraina - INVASION NU (2022-02-24)

The Russians’ plan was apparently to capture the chemical plant and then, from there, launch a river-crossing operation in order to force their way into southern Vovchansk.

The plan failed when Ukrainian troops—perhaps from the 9th Rifle Battalion, Russian Volunteer Corps or 36th Marine Brigade—attacked west of the chemical plant and advanced several blocks to the north, cutting off the Russians in the plant from their comrades to the west.

“The Russians are surrounded here with zero chances of evacuation or reinforcements,” one Ukrainian drone operator crowed. “A bunch of dead and wounded orcs,” they added, using a slang term for Russian soldiers.

Russian commanders knew they were in trouble. This weekend, they ordered their troops west of the chemical plant to fight their through the Ukrainian positions. “Two attempts to break through to the surrounded Russian forces were repelled by the Ukrainian defense forces,” according to the Center for Defense Strategies.

That’s apparently when the surrounded Russians began surrendering en masse. While Russian and Ukrainian forces routinely capture each other, they rarely do so by the dozen. The biggest captures tend to take place during major urban sieges and chaotic hasty retreats.

Strider rasar i Vovtjansk: ”Ryssarna är omringade”

Häftiga strider pågår runt staden Vovtjansk i den ukrainska regionen Charkiv, där ukrainska trupper försöker isolera de ryska styrkorna, rapporterar CNN.

De tyngsta striderna pågår kring en byggmaterialfabrik i stadens norra utkant, enligt militärbloggare på båda sidorna.

Befälhavaren Stanislav Buniatov uppger att läget är ”svårt men kontrollerat” och att ryssarna är omringade.

– Våra grabbar håller ställningarna, utför ibland framgångsrika attacker, befriar positioner och trycker tillbaka fienden, säger han.

Lipetsk tractor factory and the Novolipetsk metallurgical plant were attacked by Ukrainian drones.

Trying And Failing To Cross A River In Vovchansk, 400 Russian Troops Got Cut Off. Now They’re Surrendering.

Russia’s northern offensive isn’t going well.

Ukrainian forces have captured dozens of Russian troops in the embattled town of Vovchansk, just south of the Russia-Ukraine border, dealing a major setback to Russia’s faltering northern offensive.

In heavy fighting over the weekend, Ukrainian troops surrounded as many as 400 Russians in and around a chemical plant in central Vovchansk. Thirty Russians surrendered after repeated attempts to rescue them failed, the Ukrainian Center for Defense Strategies reported.