The settlement of Andriyivka in the Sumy region, near the border with Russia, remains fully under the control of the Ukrainian Defense Forces, and reports claiming it has been captured by Russian troops are false, the Communications Center of the Kursk Group of Forces said.
According to the statement, despite repeated Russian attempts to advance in the area, Ukrainian forces continue to hold their positions.
“Andriyivka was and remains under the full control of the Kursk Group of Forces. There can be no talk of any occupation,” the report said.
At the same time, the group acknowledged that Russian forces are trying to expand their zone of control in the region, but said those efforts have been unsuccessful.
Earlier, analysts from the DeepState monitoring project claimed that Russian troops had occupied Andriyivka.
“The report by one popular monitoring resource about the alleged occupation of Andriyivka in the Sumy region is, to say the least, surprising,” the Kursk Group said.
The military urged Ukrainians to treat battlefield summaries from monitoring resources critically, warning that Russia uses such claims to destabilize society and sow panic.
In late December, Ukrainian forces were fighting to repel an attempted Russian breakthrough in the Sumy region, following reports that Moscow troops had forcibly taken dozens of civilians from a border village.
The fighting marked a renewed Russian push in an area that had largely avoided heavy ground combat since Ukraine regained control during its swift counteroffensive in 2022.
“Fighting is currently ongoing in the village of Hrabovske,” Ukraine’s joint task force said, adding that Ukrainian troops were “making efforts to drive the occupiers back into Russian territory.”
The military also denied media reports claiming Russian forces had entered the neighboring village of Ryasne.
Earlier, Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets, said Russian troops had forcibly removed about 50 civilians from Hrabovske.
He revealed that the residents were illegally detained, held in poor conditions without communication, and later transported into Russian territory.
Meanwhile, Russia’s military claimed it had captured the village of Vysoke, located a few miles from Hrabovske.
The Sumy regional military administration said residents of nearby border communities – many of whom had previously refused to evacuate – were removed from the area using armored vehicles amid the ongoing fighting.