For six months, Russian forces have been unable to advance from the captured border village of Hrabovske to the neighbouring village of Riasne in the Sumy region. Ukrainian troops have halted the occupiers’ further push deeper into the region.
Viktor Trehubov, spokesperson for the Joint Forces Grouping, said this on the national telethon, Ukrinform reports.
“The Russians took Hrabovske virtually overnight, simply rushing in from the border. They have been unable to reach Riasne for six months now,” Trehubov said.
He explained that the Defence Forces stopped the occupiers’ further advance several kilometres deeper into the region. Since then, the Russians have continued attempts to attack from border settlements, but have run into resistance from Ukrainian troops.
“They started giving them a serious beating there, and they’ve been trying to push in ever since,” the spokesperson added.
No Signs of Preparations for a Large-Scale Offensive
At the same time, in eastern Sumy region, in the area of responsibility of the Joint Forces Grouping, there are currently no obvious signs of preparations for a large-scale Russian offensive.
“There are no major build-ups there, no attempts specifically to break through via eastern Sumy region, which is in our area of control,” Trehubov stressed.
Some pressure from Russian forces in this sector remains, but the intensity of fighting stays relatively low.
- Earlier, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine reported that Russian forces continue to attack the border areas of Sumy and Kharkiv regions using infantry groups. The enemy is most active in the Vovchansk and Vilkhuvatka communities of Kharkiv region, while in Sumy region lower activity has been recorded towards certain settlements in the Konotop and Shostka communities.