Overshadowed by Kharkiv, E. UKR Knows No Respite; UKR Blocks RU Troops at Vovchansk Aggregator Plant; Battle for Chasiv Yar Hinges On a Waterway; 9 Battles Raging in Pokrovsk Sec; UKR Drives RUs Out of Positions in Serebrianka Forest, Luhansk Oblast; UKR Employs a Flexible Defense, LIVE UPDATES, DETAILS, and LOTS MORE

Overshadowed by Kharkiv, Eastern Ukraine Knows No Respite:

Russian forces are nearing Chasiv Yar – a town perched on strategic heights – and Pokrovsk, a rail hub where Ukraine says fighting is most tense.

Volodymyr Zelensky, a 66-year-old namesake of the Ukrainian president, opened the gate of his home in the frontline town of Yampil in east Ukraine, where residents have been emptying out.

Despite a surprise Russian offensive in the northern Kharkiv region last month, Moscow has intensified attacks in Zelensky’s home region of Donetsk.

“People are running away,” he told AFP, vowing to stay on, although he acknowledged his fear of the Russian advances.

Standing next to a bed of yellow tulips and a couple of sleepy dogs, he recounted how several rockets had struck nearby, narrowly missing homes but leaving behind large craters.

When Russian troops occupied Yampil in the first year of the invasion, in 2022, Zelensky refused to flee.

If they manage to return though, he fears they will be “much more cruel.”

Military vehicles line the streets of Yampil, about a dozen kilometers (seven miles) from the front line.

The house next door to Zelensky’s lies in ruins. Others have been boarded up.

And of the few remaining residents, many fear that speaking to reporters could earn them a Russian drone strike the following day. 

Daily attacks

Fighting that erupted in the region in 2014 between Kremlin-backed separatists and the Ukrainian military has left in its wake ghost town after ghost town.

Russia claims to have annexed Donetsk – and four other Ukrainian regions – and is determined to fully capture it. —>READ MORE HERE

Ukrainian forces block Russian troops at Vovchansk aggregator plant:

Russian troops had previously used one of the city streets to approach the factory. Now, it has been taken under control by the Ukrainian Forces, “Osman” reported. The Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) have blocked Russian troops in the area of the Vivchanskiy Aggregator Plant, reported a fighter of the 24th Separate Assault Brigade “Aidar”, Stanislav Bunyatov, with the callsign “Osman”, on his Telegram channel.

“Regarding the Aggregator Plant in Vovchansk. Actually, they have been blocked there for the 5th consecutive day. Earlier, they used to enter through one street, but our guys stormed it and set up several strongpoints, through which they cannot pass,” he stated.

The Ukrainian soldier added that blocking the Russians at the Aggregator Plant did not significantly affect the situation.

“The enemy’s logistics have been managed using drones to drop ammunition, water, and food, so the situation is not dire for them, as even those blocked there mean nothing to their command,” Osman explained.

The General Staff of the Ukrainian Forces has not yet commented on the situation regarding the blocking of Russian forces in Vovchansk.

On June 14, Russian channels began spreading information that Ukrainian Forces had blocked Russian troops at the Aggregator Plant in Vovchansk, Kharkiv region.

On June 11, the Russian Ministry of Defence announced the Russian troops had captured the village of Timkivka in the Kupyansk district of the Kharkiv region. Ukrainian officials later reported that such a village has not existed for 40 years. —>READ MORE HERE

Follow links below to +++++relevant+++++ and related stories:

+++++Russia-Ukraine News LATEST UPDATES: (REUTERS) (AP) (NY POST) and (WSJ)+++++

+++++Frontline report: The battle for Chasiv Yar hinges on an unassuming waterway+++++

+++++Nine battles raging in Pokrovsk sector – General Staff +++++

+++++Ukrainian forces drive Russians out of their positions in Serebrianka Forest, Luhansk Oblast+++++

+++++Ukraine employs a flexible defense while waiting for new Western ammo to get to the front+++++

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