The advance of Russian forces in the border areas of Sumy Region has been halted as of this week, and the line of contact has stabilised. Based on the results of this and last month, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyy stated that this year’s wave of Russian attempts at a “summer offensive” from Russian territory has been “stifled”.
In certain areas, the Defence Forces are liberating land in the border zones of Sumy Region. However, defending the Region remains one of the primary objectives.
“In the North Slobozhanskyy and Kursk directions, we have repeatedly pinned down around 50,000 Russian personnel, including elite brigades of their Airborne Forces and Marine Corps. Our offensive actions in the Glushkovskiy district of Kursk Region forced the enemy to divert part of their troops to defend their own territory. This significantly reduced the offensive capabilities of the main enemy group in the Sumy direction,” said the Commander-in-Chief.
He announced the creation of a group within the command of the North Slobozhanskyy direction to address issues related to the defence of cities and communities in Sumy Region. The primary tasks include strengthening fortifications and expanding the system of engineering and fortification barriers. An official has also been appointed who will be directly responsible for preparing cities and communities for defence and for ensuring the effectiveness of the engineering barrier system in likely directions of Russian attack. In addition, a deputy for engineering fortifications has been appointed.
“The construction of additional fortifications, the organisation of ‘kill zones’, and the establishment of anti-drone corridors to protect our soldiers and ensure more reliable logistics for our troops are obvious tasks already being carried out – but the pace of their implementation must be significantly increased. I will return with an inspection within the specified time frame,” Syrskyy added.
More on this topic can be found in the articles On the Russian offensive on Sumy and Sumy in three days?