This follows earlier reports about Russian attempts to encircle Ukrainian troops in Kursk Oblast - by creating a foothold in Sumy Oblast. Read also: Ukrainian forces advance near Toretsk and Pokrovsk as Russia attacks on six fronts - ISW “We observe that the enemy is attempting to create an active combat zone within Ukraine’s territory and

Russian forces are attempting to create an active fighting zone in Ukraine's northeastern region of Sumy, across the border from Russia's Kursk region, Ukraine's border guard spokesman said on Monday.

Sumy is located across the border from Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukrainian troops launched an offensive in August. Russian forces occupied parts of Sumy during the early part of their full-scale invasion of Ukraine that began more than three years ago.

Russia claimed on Sunday that it had retaken control of four settlements in the Kursk region, as Moscow continues to try to push out Ukrainian troops which have held large chunks of territory in the region following an incursion last August.

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Russia on Sunday announced it had captured territory in Ukraine's Sumy region for the first time since 2022 in a cross-border offensive, as Kyiv struggles to hold onto territory in Russia's neighbouring Kursk region.