The defense ministry of Russia has announced that its troops have taken control of the village of Zhuravka in the Sumy region of Ukraine, which borders Russia. However, Ukrainian officials have not confirmed this claim.
Moscow has consistently conducted airstrikes in the region opposite the Russian Kursk area, where it seeks to remove the remaining Ukrainian forces, eight months after they launched a cross-border invasion and captured significant territories.
Ukrainian authorities reported increased Russian military activity on their side of the border but did not confirm that Zhuravka had been lost to Russian control.
Just four days ago, Moscow claimed to have captured another village in the area, Basivka, a statement that Ukrainian officials have denied.
The Russian state news agency Tass cited security sources indicating that this advance brings Russian forces nearer to a third location, Yunakivka, which reportedly serves as a logistics hub for Ukrainian forces operating across the border in Kursk.
Volodymyr Artiukh, the governor of the Sumy region, informed regional defense officials that Russian assaults in the region have increased by 30% over the past week.
“In the last seven days, the Russians have conducted 47 assault operations against our defenders’ positions,” Mr. Artiukh stated in a post on Facebook.
“The enemy’s primary focus is on the regions surrounding Zhuravka and Vasivka,” he added.
Mr. Artiukh reported that Russian forces continued to target civilian infrastructure, with recent attacks aimed at food industry sites, including meat-packing plants and dairies.
He also mentioned that Russia remains concentrated on Ukrainian forces still occupying territory in the Kursk region, which continue to provide “a worthy counter to the enemy and inflict significant losses.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly indicated that Russian forces aim to establish a buffer zone along the border.
On Tuesday, the Russian defense ministry released a video claiming the recapture of the settlement of Guyevo, one of the few remaining strongholds for Ukrainians in the Kursk region.
This week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged for the first time that Ukrainian forces are also operating in Russia’s Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, in efforts to protect towns on the Ukrainian side.
