Russian forces have seized four villages Novenke, Basivka, Veselivka and Zhuravka in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region, local governor Oleh Hryhorov announced. The recent Russian advancement is being considered a major setback for Kyiv as it tries to maintain control of the area and prevent Moscow from gaining leverage in any future peace negotiations.
The moves come in the wake of some of the largest drone and missile attacks on Ukraine since the full-scale war began in early 2022, although attacks briefly eased from Monday to Tuesday. Ukraine has responded by launching dozens of long-range drones into Russian territory, temporarily forcing the closure of some Moscow airports.
The Sumy region, which Ukrainian forces previously used as a base for incursions into Russia’s Kursk region, has been under heavy Russian bombardment for months.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Monday it had taken the nearby village of Bilovody, implying a further advance in the more than three-year war.
Though Russia’s offensive activity is concentrated in the eastern Donetsk region, Moscow’s inroads into northeastern Ukraine show how it is stretching Kyiv’s forces on multiple fronts.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has repeatedly warned that Russia is preparing new offensives against Sumy as well as the northeastern Kharkiv and southeastern Zaporizhzhia regions.
”There is much evidence that they are preparing new offensive operations. Russia is counting on further war,” he said on Monday, without elaborating.
