Ukrainian troops are pushing Russian forces from the country’s north-eastern Sumy region amid cross-border assault, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday.
Announcing the Ukrainian troops’ gains in Sumy region in his night address, Zelenskiy thanked soldiers, sergeants, and officers for the success in this part of the frontline. "Today, there was a report from Commander-in-Chief Syrskyi - the front and, above all, the Pokrovsk direction, the Kursk operation, the border area of Sumy Oblast," Zelensky said. The Ukrainian leader also dismissed as a “Russian narrative” Kremlin’s claims of significant territorial gains in an interview with Bild newspaper on June 12.
Zelenskiy's comments follow weeks of relentless Russian attacks along the northeastern border. Russian army units have advanced into Sumy region after Ukraine started withdrawing from Russia’s border Kursk region in March. Since then, Russia captured 200 square kilometers of territory, including roughly a dozen small villages, prompting mandatory evacuation of 213 settlements as of May 31. Russian army has also been advancing to Dnipropetrovsk region that has been the target of frequent Russian drone and missile attacks recently.
Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin order the army to build “security buffer zones” along Kursk, Bryansk, and Belgorod regions on the border with Ukraine in an apparent attempt to repeal Kyiv’s cross-border attacks. Zelenskiy said on May 28 that Russia had massed 50,000 troops near Sumy region.
