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Ukrainian forces have successfully halted Russia’s recent advance into the northern Sumy region, stabilising the front line near the border, Ukraine’s top military commander announced on Thursday.
Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander in chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, stated that these successes in Sumy have strategically prevented Russia from deploying approximately 50,000 troops, including elite airborne and marine brigades, to other critical areas of the front line.
However, this claim could not be independently verified, and Russian officials have yet to issue a comment.
These advances, however, have come at a significant cost in terms of troop casualties and armoured vehicles.
The outnumbered Ukrainian army has increasingly relied on drone technology to counter Russian pressure.
Despite months of US-led international efforts aimed at de-escalating the protracted conflict, which has now spanned more than three years, a resolution remains elusive.
Sumy, the city which is the capital of the Ukrainian region of the same name, had a prewar population of around 250,000. It lies about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the front line. Russia’s push into the Sumy region earlier this year compelled Ukraine to strengthen its defenses there.
A special defense group has been formed to improve security in Sumy and surrounding communities, Syrskyi said. It's focusing on improving fortifications and accelerating construction of defensive barriers.
In March, Ukrainian forces withdrew from much of Russia’s neighboring Kursk region, parts of which they had controlled after a surprise cross-border attack in August.
That retreat enabled Russia to launch a counteroffensive that advanced between 2-12 kilometers (1-7 miles) into Ukrainian territory, according to different estimates.
Ukrainian officials say fierce fighting is also taking place in the eastern Donetsk region.
The Russian Defense Ministry said Thursday that its forces have captured two villages, Novoserhiivka and Shevchenko, in Donetsk.
Capturing Shevchenko marked an important stage in Russia’s ongoing offensive that is trying to break into Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, which borders Donetsk and is a major industrial center, according to the Defense Ministry.
Meanwhile, the two sides continued to launch long-range strikes.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said that 50 Ukrainian drones were downed over nine regions overnight, including three over the Moscow region.
Ukraine's air force said that Russia deployed 41 Shahed and decoy drones across the country overnight, wounding five people. It said that 24 drones were either intercepted or jammed.
