MOSCOW

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday that its forces had taken control of the settlement of Malaya Korchakovka in Ukraine’s Sumy region.

"Units of the Sever (North) army group, as a result of active operations, established control over the settlement," the ministry said in a statement.

Parts of the Sumy region in northeastern Ukraine were occupied by Russian forces in early 2022. By April that year, however, the region’s governor said Russian troops had withdrawn.

In 2025, Russian forces launched a new incursion into parts of the region.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s General Staff said it had again struck the Russian port of Ust-Luga, which is used to transport oil exports.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv was deliberately targeting Russian energy infrastructure.

"How does the Russian economy work? It depends on energy. Sanctions have affected it. Our long-range strikes have affected it. The increase in energy exports from the Middle East and the US has also affected it," he wrote on Telegram.

"All these factors have led to a Russian budget deficit of approximately $100 billion in 2026. However, now their energy revenues are growing daily, and that does not help us," he added.