Vovchansk in Ukraine's northeast Kharkiv region was home to some 17,000 people before Moscow's troops stormed across the border in May, triggering a battle that has lasted for months.

Aerial imagery published by Ukraine's Separate Presidential Brigade on Thursday showed rows of crumbling residential blocks charred by fire and piles of rubble blocking streets.

Some buildings had been flattened, with only their foundations visible.

"The town is almost completely destroyed, with entire streets burning down from artillery and drone strikes," the army unit said in a Facebook post.

"For Ukraine, it is becoming another ghost town that the occupiers have levelled to the ground," it added.

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

In May 2024, Russia launched a new offensive into the town as Moscow sought to create a buffer zone to protect Russians on the other side of the border from Ukrainian shelling.

Thousands of residents quickly fled, leaving just a handful of people behind.

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