Ukraine Stops Russian Advance in Northern Sumy Region

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    KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian military forces have successfully halted a recent Russian advance in the northern Sumy region, stabilizing the front line close to the Russian border, as reported by Ukraine’s top military official on Thursday.

    Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, who commands Ukraine’s armed forces, noted that this achievement in Sumy has prevented about 50,000 Russian troops, including elite airborne and marine units, from redeploying to other key areas along the front line.

    While this assertion could not be independently confirmed, Russian officials have not provided any immediate comments.

    The Russian military has been making progress in certain sections along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front, albeit at a high cost in terms of personnel losses and damaged equipment. Ukrainian forces, faced with being outnumbered, have effectively utilized drones to hold back the advancing Russians.

    Efforts led by the U.S. and other international actors to put an end to the war, which has now lasted more than three years, have not succeeded. Despite ongoing hostilities, the two nations have continued prisoner-of-war swaps negotiated during recent dialogue between their representatives held in Istanbul.

    Both Russia’s Defense Ministry and Ukrainian authorities confirmed that another prisoner exchange took place on Thursday.

    Ukraine’s prisoner-of-war coordination headquarters revealed that this swap involved soldiers who were injured or had health issues, with participants ranging in age from 24 to 62. More exchanges are anticipated shortly.

    Sumy, the capital city of the region with the same name in Ukraine, had around 250,000 residents before the war. It is located approximately 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the front lines, and the Russian push in the area earlier this year prompted Ukraine to bolster its defenses.

    A special defense team has been established to enhance security in Sumy and the surrounding communities, according to Syrskyi, who mentioned that they are concentrating on reinforcing fortifications and accelerating the construction of defensive structures.

    In March, Ukrainian forces withdrew from much of the neighboring Russian territory of the Kursk region, which they had controlled following a surprise cross-border operation in August. This withdrawal facilitated a Russian counteroffensive, with Russian troops advancing between 2-12 kilometers (1-7 miles) into Ukrainian territory, according to various sources.

    Ukrainian authorities have reported intense fighting also occurring in the eastern Donetsk region.

    On Thursday, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that its forces had captured two villages, Novoserhiivka and Shevchenko, within Donetsk. Seizing Shevchenko was described as a significant step in Russia’s ongoing offensive aimed at penetrating into Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, a strategically important industrial hub bordering Donetsk.

    Meanwhile, both sides continue to conduct long-range strikes. The Russian ministry claimed to have downed 50 Ukrainian drones over nine regions overnight, including three in the Moscow region. Conversely, Ukraine’s air force reported that Russia launched 41 Shahed and decoy drones across various areas of the country, resulting in injuries to five individuals. They further reported that 24 of these drones were intercepted or jammed.