Akhmat unit deploys in Vovchansk for PR stunts, not combat action, Ukraine’s military believes

The opinion was expressed by the spokesman for the Kharkiv Grouping of Troops, Colonel Vitaly Sarantsev, who spoke on the air of the national telethon, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"This shows that the enemy is gradually exhausting its offensive capability, being forced to engage all available units in order to perform some assault efforts with their help. However, even the enemy command has no high hopes for that unit ("Akhmat" - ed.). We all know their approaches to combat missions. My opinion is that the unit will be doing PR stunts without engaging in any serious combat action," Sarantsev said.

He also noted that in the Vovchansk area, near Starytsia, the enemy completed the replacement of the 83rd Separate Airborne Assault Brigade with the 136th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade.

"The enemy is already trying to do reconnaissance, constantly flying aerial recon missions. They try to expand their zone of control, to advance at certain moments, looking for weak spots in our defense lines. However, our Defense Forces undermine their plans, opening fire," the spokesman said.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) think tank said the Russian military command relocated reserve units from the Pokrovsk axis to Kursk region, where the raid by Ukraine’s Armed Forces is underway.