Ukrainians capture hundreds of Russian soldiers in a factory, they come out in groups and surrender

(Patria) - The Ukrainian army claims to have captured dozens of Russian soldiers in Vovchansk, around which fierce fighting has been raging in recent weeks, dealing a major blow to the Russian offensive in the north, Forbes reports.

In heavy fighting over the weekend, Ukrainian troops surrounded at least 400 Russian soldiers near the chemical plant in Vovchansk, as well as inside the factory complex, reports Jutarnji list.

Thirty Russians surrendered after rescue attempts failed, the Ukrainian Center for Defense Strategies claims.

The new front towards Vovchansk, located south of the Russian-Ukrainian border, was opened on May 10 by tens of thousands of Russian troops.

Vovchansk, Kharkiv
RU infantry surrenders to 36th Marines infantry
50.298945, 36.973882@UAControlMap @GeoConfirmed https://t.co/WFmefhtwl8 pic.twitter.com/WcZoq0UFNO

— imi (m) (@moklasen) June 17, 2024

Russian battalions quickly captured a chain of poorly defended border villages, then advanced towards Vovchansk, the first major city between Kharkiv and the border.

It was in Vovchansk that the Ukrainians decided to put up resistance. Elements of several Ukrainian brigades, including the elite 82nd Air Assault Brigade, rushed north, and over several weeks of heavy fighting, blocked the Russian advance north of the Vovcha River, which stretches from east to west through central Vovchansk.

It was the moment when the Russians realized they had to come up with a new plan. The equivalent of at least two units with hundreds of infantry soldiers entered the PJSC Volchansky chemical plant on the right bank of the Vovcha.

Factories and other industrial facilities have often been the scene of fighting in Ukraine, as troops can take shelter from artillery and drones in vast factory complexes.

The Russians' plan was apparently to capture the chemical plant and then launch a river crossing operation from there to break into southern Vovchansk.

The plan failed when Ukrainian troops, probably from the 9th Rifle Unit, the Russian Volunteer Corps, or the 36th Marine Brigade - attacked west of the chemical plant and advanced several blocks north, separating the Russians in the factory from their colleagues to the west.

- The Russians are surrounded with no prospects for evacuation or reinforcement. There are many dead and wounded Russian soldiers - one Ukrainian drone operator shouted.

As Forbes reports, Russian commanders knew they were in trouble. This weekend, they ordered their troops, west of the chemical plant, to fight against Ukrainian troops.

BREAKING:

Some of the Russian soldiers encircled in the aggregate plant Vovchansk have started surrendering.

This video shows that at least 24 Russian soldiers have been taken POW.

Around 400 soldiers were holed upd in the complex consisting of 20+ buildings pic.twitter.com/NUgRnLcIuy

— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) June 16, 2024

- Ukrainian defense forces repelled two attempts to break through to the encircled Russian forces, the Center for Defense Strategies states. Then, reportedly, the Russians began to surrender en masse.

Captures of soldiers occur frequently on both sides, but rarely in such large numbers. Most soldiers are captured during sieges of larger cities or in hasty retreats.

Recall, at the beginning of the war, hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers surrendered after being holed up for weeks in the Azovstal steel plant complex in Mariupol.

Almost two years later, in mid-February, Russian troops captured dozens of Ukrainians retreating from the ruins of Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine.

The fact that so many Russians surrendered at the same time in Vovchansk, a city that neither side fully controls, should worry Russian commanders, Forbes writes.

They add that few expected to lose so many soldiers in a failed attempt to capture a starting base for a possible attempt to cross a narrow river in the city center.