Ukraine says soldiers recaptured Russian stronghold after hand-to-hand fighting

Smoke, dust and debris can be seen after a Russian attack hit a residential building in Kharkiv, Ukraine (Ukrainian Emergency Services/AP)

Ukrainian troops engaged in hand-to-hand combat as they drove Russian forces out of a huge processing plant in the town of Vovchansk in Ukraine’s northeast that had been occupied for four months, officials have said.

The plant, a partly steel structure with some 30 buildings, had been a Russian stronghold in the Kharkiv border region since May when Russia sought to further stretch Ukraine’s weary forces by launching a fresh push in the area.