Ukrainian forces are gradually pushing Russian troops out of the Sumy region, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening address on Thursday, June 12.
Zelensky said he received a report from Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Oleksandr Syrsky regarding the situation in the Sumy direction, as well as in the Pokrovsk and Kursk sectors.
Sumy region lies in northeastern Ukraine and shares a direct border with the Russian Federation, making it particularly vulnerable to cross-border attacks.
“Our units in Sumy are slowly pushing the occupiers back. Thank you! I thank every soldier, sergeant, and officer for this result. Every unit,” the president said.
Zelensky did not provide further details or evidence confirming that Ukrainian forces are advancing in the Sumy direction.
Russian troops began moving into the Sumy region back in April, after Russian strongman Vladimir Putin called for the creation of a “buffer zone” along the border. This followed Kremlin claims that Ukrainian forces had completely withdrawn from previously occupied areas in Russia’s Kursk region.
Both Russian and Ukrainian sources report that Russian forces have captured several villages in the Sumy region, which has been under heavy Russian airstrikes for many months.
According to the military blog DeepState, Russian forces have recently advanced around several border villages. Other Ukrainian sources add that Russian troops have moved to within approximately 20 kilometers (12 miles) of the city of Sumy and are likely aiming to secure high ground south of the city.
The city of Sumy lies just 25 kilometers (15 miles) from the border with Ukraine, and a buffer zone encompassing it would hamper Kyiv’s ability to launch tube artillery or tactical drone strikes into Russian territory.
On May 22, in an online meeting with top Russian officials, Putin said Moscow had “decided to create the necessary security buffer zone” along Ukraine’s border. He claimed Russian forces were already “suppressing enemy firing points” to make that happen.
Though he gave few details, Russian state media later said he was referring to the Bryansk, Kursk, and Belgorod regions that border Ukraine’s Chernihiv, Sumy, and Kharkiv regions in the northeast.
Russian lawmakers say the zone should stretch into not three, but six Ukrainian regions, including the Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv and Odesa regions in central and southern Ukraine – not just the border areas.
One Russian general, Viktor Sobolev, said the idea is to force long-range Ukrainian weapons like HIMARS out of striking range.
“I think the buffer zone of security should cover the border areas where our new regions [illegally annexed Zaporizhzhia, Kherson regions] are located, among other things. That is, these are parts of Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv and Odesa regions,” Sobolev said.
Ukraine’s State Security Service says the border near Sumy is now a hotspot. In just a month, over 52,000 people have been evacuated. Russia has even struck evacuation vehicles, including a civilian bus near Bilopillia.