Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated that Ukrainian forces have made significant advances in villages near the Russian border in the northern Sumy region. Russia had taken control of some villages in the area as part of the Russia-Ukraine war. However, Russian forces have not been successful in their efforts to strengthen their position in these areas. Russia launched a campaign to gain control of territories in the Sumy region bordering Russia several months ago. Zelenskyy said that Ukrainian forces defending these areas are pushing Russian troops back. “We are getting good results from the Sumy region,” he said.
While Russian forces have taken control of some areas in eastern Ukraine, both countries’ troops are exchanging intense attacks along the 1,000-kilometer-long front line of the war. Citing Ukraine’s top military commander Oleksandr Syrskyi, Zelenskyy said that Ukrainian forces are making significant progress in areas of Donetsk and Kharkiv regions controlled by Russia. Zelenskyy’s comments come at a time when Russia is also claiming advances in Ukraine’s key region of Dnipropetrovsk. Analysts monitoring the situation have confirmed that Russian forces advancing in eastern Ukraine have made progress. As such, additional towns in the Donbas region’s Donetsk and Luhansk have fallen under Russian control.
Many towns and villages in four main regions of Ukraine are currently under Russian control. These include Donetsk, Luhansk, and the southern regions of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. “Our forces are moving towards the border,” Zelenskyy said, revealing that Ukrainian troops are also making advances. The Kremlin is working to establish a ‘buffer zone’ or zone’ or an area under Russian control between the two countries. As part of this campaign, Russia continues to target Sumy and other towns in the region with relentless attacks. Zelenskyy also said that Ukrainian forces are launching powerful attacks against Russian troops attempting attempting to take control of Kupiansk, northeast of Kharkiv, in addition to Sumy.
The Russia-Ukraine war began on February 24, 2022. Russia said it was forced to start the war against Ukraine because Ukraine did not stop its efforts to join the Western defense alliance (NATO). Russia views NATO as a threat. NATO member countries continue to provide military assistance to Ukraine. The United States is at the top of that list.
