Russian troops are stepping up their offensive in Luhansk region. Their task is to make their way to the village of Borova

Russian troops are stepping up their offensive in Luhansk region. Their task is to make their way to the village of Borova (Kharkiv region).

The 3rd Separate Assault Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which holds the front line in the Kharkiv region on the border with the Luhansk region, reports that their area is one of the most intensively attacked by Russian troops. The main task of the occupiers is to reach the village of Cherneshchyna (Kharkiv region) and the village of Pershotravneve (Kharkiv region), with the subsequent capture of the village of Borova in the Izyum district.

The 3rd and 144th divisions of the 20th Army of the Russian Federation are fighting against the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade. The brigade reports that the enemy is advancing with tank regiments, attracting a significant amount of artillery and additional detachments from the PMC and special forces. FPV drones, guided aerial bombs and chemical weapons are actively used. The enemy throws entire platoons and companies into the assaults, which are replaced by 250-400 soldiers every week.

"Despite the overwhelming number of the enemy and the lack of reserves, the brigade continues to hold the designated lines for more than a month," added the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade and noted that since May 2024, the brigadeʼs fighters have already killed about 1 068 Russians and wounded almost 2,292.

Analytical project DeepState, which cooperates with the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, writes that the enemy has built up a shock fist for the offensive on Borova — in the section from Raihorodka to Novovodyane, the Russians have built up to 10 000 personnel and about 450 units of military equipment, of which 200 are artillery systems.

"According to the available information, the enemy plans to repeat last yearʼs strategy with an exit first to the line Nadiya — Novoyehorivka, and then to Pershotravneve — Cherneshchyna," writes DeepState and adds a map depicting the approximate configuration of enemy forces in this direction as of June 18.

The project notes that the Russians have been conducting training for the past three weeks, "probing" in groups for weak spots in the defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and continuously storming the positions of the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade.

DeepState also writes that the Russians deployed the forces of 20 armies in the form of 3 and 144 divisions, which are represented by 236 artillery brigades and 11 regiments: 7 motorized rifle, 2 tank and 2 artillery, against 3 Separate Assault Brigade. They are assisted by mercenaries from irregular army units, including "Storm V", "Black Mamba", "Fiksiki", the PMC "Patriot" and the BARS-14 unit.