KYIV — Russia now controls four border villages in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region, regaining a small part of territory that was liberated by Kyiv’s forces in 2022.
“The enemy controls the Sumy region’s Novenke, Basivka, Veselivka, and Zhuravka villages. Residents of those villages were evacuated long ago, so there’s no threat to the civilian population there,” Oleh Hryhorov, head of Sumy’s regional military administration, said in a statement.
The Russian army continues attempts to progress in the frontier region to create a so-called buffer zone, he added, which Russian President Vladimir Putin announced as a Kremlin priority last week.
