ISTANBUL 

Ukraine claimed on Thursday that its forces have stopped Russian advances in border areas of the country’s northeastern region of Sumy, where Moscow claimed it captured multiple settlements over the past weeks.

“The advance of Russian troops in the Sumy region's border area has been stopped as of this week, and the line of combat contact has been stabilized,” Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said in a statement on Telegram amid a visit to the front line.

Arguing that Russia’s attempts at a “summer offensive” are collapsing similarly to the one launched by Moscow on the country’s Kharkiv region in May 2024, Syrskyi claimed that Ukrainian forces, in certain areas, are “successfully” using active defense tactics and retaking control of territory in the border areas of Sumy.

Syrskyi further claimed that Ukraine has pinned down about 50,000 Russian troops “in the Northern Slobozhanshchyna and Kursk sectors,” and that its offensive actions in the Glushkovsky district of Russia’s border region of Kursk have resulted in Moscow sending a certain part of its troops to the area, so “significantly” reducing its offensive capabilities in Sumy.

He went on to say that a special group has been created for the region’s defense, and that an official was also appointed to be directly responsible for preparing settlements and communities in Sumy for defense and ensuring effectiveness.

Russian authorities have not immediately commented on Syrskyi’s claims.

In April, Russia claimed pushing Ukraine out of Kursk, where Kyiv had launched an incursion in August last year, after which Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the creation of a “security buffer zone” along the border between the two countries.

Since then, Moscow has claimed taking control of multiple settlements in the Sumy region, but independent verification is difficult due to the ongoing conflict, now in its fourth year.