Russians are advancing — after a breakthrough in the region, Sumy may come under direct fire.
On the border of Sumy Oblast, Russian occupiers have intensified their offensive and advanced 6–7 kilometers deep into Ukrainian territory.

Russia does not intend to stop at creating a so-called “buffer zone,” adds Shevtsov. Its goal is the full occupation of Sumy Oblast, as well as Kharkiv Oblast and other regions in eastern Ukraine.

According to Andrii Demchenko, spokesperson for the State Border Guard Service (SBGS), about 50,000 Russian troops have been concentrated in Kursk Oblast near the Russian border, UNIAN reports. 

The offensive is accompanied by intense shelling from drones, artillery, and aircraft using glide bombs and guided missiles.

All of this aims to complicate the defense of Ukrainian positions and push even deeper.

“The situation is not easy — in fact, it’s difficult. The Russians are sending infantry groups toward Yunakivka and Khotin. If earlier we observed activity in the areas of Basivka and Zhuravka, now the zone has expanded,” Demchenko says.

So far, heavy armored vehicles have not been used. Instead, Russia is deploying infantry, including units on quad bikes and motorcycles, to quickly break into Ukrainian territory.

The invaders are trying to entrench themselves in forest belts and hideouts while awaiting reinforcements.

“We must pay tribute to our soldiers, who are bravely holding the defense and destroying dozens of invaders every day… But unfortunately, the enemy does not care about its losses — some die, others keep coming,” the military spokesperson emphasizes. 

According to Demchenko, the occupiers’ goal is to gradually expand the combat zone and move closer to strategically important logistical hubs to increase pressure on Ukraine’s defense forces.

The situation on the border of Sumy and Kharkiv oblasts with Russia must be treated with the utmost seriousness, warns Lieutenant Colonel Maksym Zhorin, deputy commander of Ukraine’s 3rd Separate Assault Brigade.

Zhorin stresses the urgent need to prepare logistics, cover roads with anti-drone nets, and build fortifications. He notes that Russia lacks sufficient forces to capture regional centers but may attempt to push deeper into Ukrainian territory to use this as leverage in negotiations.

“Their goal isn’t to seize entire regions, but to add two more to their propaganda narrative — and claim they could have taken them, but chose not to,” Zhorin says.

Even without a critical mass of troops, the threat remains — and not just in Sumy and Kharkiv oblasts.

Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Center for Countering Disinformation at Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, warns that Russia may also launch an offensive in the Chernihiv direction, 24 Channel reports. 

This is a critical threat, as Chernihiv borders Kyiv Oblast and was a key invasion route in 2022, when Russian forces advanced through Hlukhiv, Bakhmach, and Chernihiv in an attempt to encircle Kyiv from the northeast.

“We must disrupt Russia’s plans to create a buffer zone. That zone must be on Russian territory, not in Ukraine,” Kovalenko emphasizes.

He adds that Russia has long ceased to hide its strategic goal — the occupation of all of Ukraine. However, having a plan does not mean the enemy is capable of executing it.

Ukraine’s military leadership urges not to delay in strengthening the border and preparing for a multi-directional defense.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Russian forces are amassing more than 50,000 troops in the northeastern Sumy direction, aiming to establish a “buffer zone,” while conducting continuous offensive operations along the front lines.

“They [Russians] are now accumulating troops in the Sumy direction. More than 50,000. We understand this. But we have successes there. Today [27 May] we took, for example, 8 prisoners in the Tyotkino area [a settlement in Russia’s Kursk Oblast],” Zelenskyy said during a conversation with journalists on 27 May, Interfax-Ukraine reports.

The Ukrainian leader indicated that despite constant Russian attacks, Moscow has been unable to execute a major breakthrough operation on the frontline.

Moscow aims to establish what officials term a “buffer zone” extending 10 kilometers (6 miles) into Ukrainian territory, though Zelenskyy expressed doubt about Russian capabilities to achieve this goal.

He indicated that Russian objectives also include crossing into eastern Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, and capturing the city of Pokrovsk in Donetsk Oblast, though these efforts have not succeeded.

Previously, Russian sources circulated claims that the Russian forces had crossed into the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast but the Ukrainian side emphasized that its defenses repelled the attack, killing all invading Russian soldiers.

However, Zelenskyy noted that the Russians cannot completely “withdraw all their troops from the Pokrovsk direction” and transfer them to Sumy Oblast. 

 “Just as they could not transfer all troops to the Pokrovsk direction to capture Pokrovsk,” he stated, highlighting the multi-front nature of the conflict.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) corroborated the strategic shift in its 26 May report, noting Russian force transfers from Donetsk to Sumy Oblast as evidence of changing offensive priorities.

The ISW also analyzed that Russia’s ambitions to establish a buffer zone in Ukraine’s Sumy Oblast are unlikely to succeed in the near future. Despite recent Russian cross-border attacks and attempts to seize territory in the region, Russian forces lack the necessary manpower and resources to achieve significant breakthroughs or hold substantial territory. Ukrainian defenses remain strong, and the villages targeted by Russian advances are mostly empty or evacuated, limiting the strategic value of these operations.

In March 2025, Zelenskyy predicted renewed Russian spring offensives targeting Sumy and Kharkiv oblasts, with Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi confirming in April that such operations had commenced.

In early May, Sumy regional administration head Mykhailo Melnyk urged residents of border towns to evacuate to safer locations amid escalating attacks and threats of a new offensive. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin also publicly discussed establishing a “security buffer zone” along the Ukrainian border, specifically referencing the situation in Kursk, Belgorod, and Bryansk regions that border northern Ukraine.

According to regional officials, four settlements in Sumy Oblast currently remain under Russian occupation, including Novenke, Basivka, Veselivka, and Zhuravka.