ISTANBUL

A Ukrainian governor declared that four villages in the country’s border region of Sumy are under Russian control amid Moscow’s efforts to establish a “security buffer zone” as the conflict between the two countries continues.

Sumy Governor Oleh Hryhorov said in a statement on Facebook late Monday that the villages of Novenke, Basivka, Veselivka, and Zhuravka were captured by Russian troops.

“The residents of these villages were evacuated long ago, there is no threat to the civilian population there,” Hryhorov further said.

He also said that clashes between Russian and Ukrainian forces continue on the outskirts of the villages of Vodolahy and Loknia, as well as near the villages of Volodymyrivka, Bilovody, Kostiantynivka, and Kindrativka.

Hryhorov went on to say that the Ukrainian military are keeping the situation under control, and are repelling attacks by Russia to prevent further advances into the Sumy region.

Earlier, a statement by the Russian Defense Ministry claimed that its forces captured the villages of Volodymyrivka and Bilovody, both of which are situated just a couple of miles from Ukraine’s border with Russia.

The two villages are also some 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) north of the city of Sumy, the border region’s administrative center, which has been regularly hit by Russian airstrikes over the course of the Ukraine war, now in its fourth year.

Independent verification of the claims is difficult due to the ongoing conflict.

Moscow's claims came as Russian President Vladimir Putin announced last Thursday that he ordered the creation of a "security buffer zone" along his country's border with Ukraine.