Ukraine halts Russia's advance in northern Sumy region, commander says

KYIV, Ukraine -- Ukrainian forces person halted Russia’s caller beforehand into the bluish Sumy portion and person stabilized the beforehand enactment adjacent the borderline with Russia, Ukraine’s apical subject commandant said Thursday.

Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, commandant successful main of Ukraine’s equipped forces, said that Ukrainian successes successful Sumy person prevented Russia from deploying astir 50,000 Russian troops, including elite airborne and marine brigades, to different areas of the beforehand line.

His assertion couldn't beryllium independently verified, and Russian officials made nary contiguous comment.

Russian forces person been dilatory grinding guardant astatine immoderate points connected the astir 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) beforehand line, though their incremental gains person been costly successful presumption of unit casualties and armor. The outnumbered Ukrainian service has relied heavy connected drones to support the Russians back.

Months of U.S.-led planetary efforts to halt the more than 3 years of fighting person failed.

Sumy, the metropolis which is the superior of the Ukrainian portion of the aforesaid name, had a prewar colonisation of astir 250,000. It lies astir 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the beforehand line. Russia’s propulsion into the Sumy portion earlier this twelvemonth compelled Ukraine to fortify its defenses there.

A peculiar defence radical has been formed to amended information successful Sumy and surrounding communities, Syrskyi said. It's focusing connected improving fortifications and accelerating operation of antiaircraft barriers.

In March, Ukrainian forces withdrew from overmuch of Russia’s neighboring Kursk region, parts of which they had controlled aft a surprise cross-border attack successful August.

That retreat enabled Russia to motorboat a counteroffensive that precocious betwixt 2-12 kilometers (1-7 miles) into Ukrainian territory, according to antithetic estimates.

Ukrainian officials accidental fierce warring is besides taking spot successful the eastern Donetsk region.

The Russian Defense Ministry said Thursday that its forces person captured 2 villages, Novoserhiivka and Shevchenko, successful Donetsk.

Capturing Shevchenko marked an important signifier successful Russia’s ongoing violative that is trying to interruption into Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, which borders Donetsk and is simply a large concern center, according to the Defense Ministry.

Meanwhile, the 2 sides continued to motorboat long-range strikes.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said that 50 Ukrainian drones were downed implicit 9 regions overnight, including 3 implicit the Moscow region.

Ukraine's aerial unit said that Russia deployed 41 Shahed and decoy drones crossed the state overnight, wounding 5 people. It said that 24 drones were either intercepted oregon jammed.

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