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ADVERTISEMENTRussia has 50,000 soldiers on the border with northeast Sumy of Ukraine, said Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in what it claims to be a Moscow offer to create a 10-kilometer buffer area in the region.
“Now, they accumulate troops in the direction of Sumy, more than 50,000. We understand, but were successful,” said Zelensky on Wednesday, adding that Russia also concentrates its “best troops” in the neighboring region of Kursk.
Moscow has intensified its military efforts to the Ukraine Sumy region in recent weeks.
Kyiv confirmed that the forces of Moscow had managed to capture four villages near the region’s border with Russia. The regional governor of Sumy said that the residents of these colonies had been evacuated a long time ago and “there is no threat to civilians”.
About 56,000 civilians had been evacuated from the region in the midst of an increase in Russian attack and daily attacks and bombing, Oleh Hryhorov announced.
Kharkiv also in the views of Moscow
Kyiv said on several occasions that Russia planned to launch an offensive in the Sumy region from 2024, but the plan was disrupted by the Incursion of Ukraine in the Kursk Russia region.
Recently, the Ukrainian army also warned that Russia could prepare new attacks on Kharkiv while Moscow brought together its troops near the border with the region.
Andrii Pomahaibus, the chief of staff of the 13th Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine, said that Russia was trying to bring the troops closer to the contact line, but has so far failed to carry out attacks.
Moscow has repeatedly indicated plans to create a buffer zone between Ukraine and Russia in the region.
Last Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed his government, saying: “A decision was made to establish a necessary security buffer zone. Our armed forces are currently carrying out this task.”
His remarks intervened after regional officials from the Russia Kursk region urged stronger border measures. Putin noted that the area would be along the regions of Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk, which borders the regions of Sumy, Kharkiv and Chernihiv of Ukraine.
Russian military mobilization continues
Russia is now preparing for a new offensive, perhaps during the summer, said the Ukrainian army. The fighting has intensified along all the front lines of Ukraine, extending over 1,000 kilometers in several regions of the country.
On Tuesday, Zelenskyy said that Russia mobilized around 40,000 to 45,000 men for its soldiers each month, while Ukraine mobilizes around 25,000 to 27,000.
The president of Ukraine said it was another moscow indicator intensifying his war efforts despite numerous calls from kyiv, Brussels and Washington to accept an unconditional cease-fire as the first step towards a peace agreement.
“When the United States sends signals that it wants to do something positive with Russia, Russia increases its mobilization,” said Zelenskyy.
On Monday, the general staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that Russia had already lost nearly a million soldiers in its total war ongoing against Ukraine.
The American special envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg said that Washington’s estimates suggest that total victims on both sides since Ukraine’s large -scale invasion by Russia have exceeded 1 million people.
