Aerial footage reveals Ukrainian border town in ruins

Text size

A Ukrainian border town caught in the crosshairs of a Russian offensive earlier this year has been devastated by fighting, according to aerial video released by the Ukrainian military.

Vovchansk, in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine, had a population of about 17,000 before Moscow’s troops stormed the border in May, sparking a months-long battle.

Aerial footage released Thursday by Ukraine’s Separate Presidential Brigade showed rows of ruined residential blocks charred by fire and piles of rubble blocking streets.

Some buildings were razed, leaving only their foundations visible.

“The city is almost completely destroyed, with entire streets set ablaze by artillery and drone fire,” the army unit said in a Facebook post.

“For Ukraine, this is becoming another ghost town that the occupiers have razed to the ground,” he added.

Russian forces captured Vovchansk shortly after invading Ukraine in February 2022, but were pushed back across the border in a lightning Ukrainian counteroffensive six months later.

In May 2024, Russia launched a new offensive in the city as Moscow sought to create a buffer zone to protect Russians across the border from Ukrainian shelling.

Thousands of residents quickly fled, leaving only a handful behind.

bur-cad/am/rox