With Iran pacified, in September 1941 the division was sent to Ukraine in September and incorporated into the 38th Army. It took part in major fighting in Poltava, Kharkiv and Vovchansk during the First Battle of Kharkov. In February 1942, the division advanced westward and was reassigned and integrated into the 21st Army. In May 1942, the Voroshilov Division was once more on the offensive and advanced toward the Donets River. where it confronted the entrenched German Army Group South. Despite suffering heavy casualties, the division was able to cross the riverbank, and retake a line of towns straddling the Russian-Ukrainian border: Grafovka, Nekhotevka, Shamino and Arkhangelskoye.