Zelensky: Russians halted in Sumy region
During a press briefing, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky rejected claims of Russian troop "advancements" in the Dnipropetrovsk region. According to him, heavy fighting continues on the Sumy front along the border, where Russian forces have been stopped.
"The North-Slobodsky area, which we call the Sumy direction, is a key focus. Our position is holding steady. Crucially, there are 53,000 Russians there. The battles rage along the border, and the enemy has been stopped. The maximum battle depth from the border is 7 km, showing how far the city of Sumy is," he stated. Zelensky highlighted hot spots like Andriivka, Kondrativka, Oleksiivka, and Kostiantynivka. It's worth noting there's another Kostiantynivka in the East direction. "We regained control over Andriivka today," he added. Additionally, threats in the Luhansk direction have been neutralized, and intense fighting is ongoing near Kostiantynivka. While Russians had an edge, the Ukrainian Defense Forces are now advancing along the highway. No enemy advancement in Dnipropetrovsk region today, he confirmed. Zelensky dismissed Russian "advancements" in Dnipropetrovsk region.
"There's no advancement into Dnipropetrovsk region for now. Yet they are keen on an information campaign... trying to set foot up to the administrative boundary. They aim to capture a photo or video, hence deploying tiny sabotage groups," Zelensky elaborated.
On Friday, Ukrainian forces reportedly eliminated one such enemy group consisting of six Russians just a kilometer from the administrative border. "They managed to sneak because they're a small group and remained undetected. Dense vegetation conceals them, so they're skirting through the groves," he said. Earlier, Sumy region expanded the mandatory evacuation zone. In total, 213 settlements are under mandatory evacuation orders. According to the DeepState project, Russian forces have advanced to 20 kilometers from Sumy, which may soon lead to FPV drone strikes on the regional center.