Zelenski states that Kiev troops “gradually reject the occupants” in the region where even Ukrainian military bloggers recognize that the Russian army is advancing
Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski visits the troops on the front line, in the Sumî region, Ukraine, on April 3, 2025. Photo: Ukraine Presidency / Shutterstock Editorial / Profimedia
The President of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelenski, said on Thursday that the Ukrainian forces gradually reject the Russian troops in the SUM-border region, where the Moscow army has set a position in recent weeks, reports Reuters.
The Russian forces began to move to the Sumî region in April, when the Kremlin leader, Vladimir Putin, demanded the creation of a buffer area after declaring that all Ukrainian troops were evacuated from the Kursk region, located in western Russia, a region in which the Kiev forces were for several months.
Both the information from Russia and Ukrainian indicates that Russian forces have captured a series of villages in the Sumî region, which for many months is the target of intense air attacks of the Russian army. Russia's information and reports say that Moscow troops are advancing in the area.
“Our units in the Sumî region gradually reject the occupants,” Zelenski said, during his video speech addressed to the nation on Thursday night. “Thank you! Thank you for each soldier, sergeant and officer for this result,” added the leader from Kiev.
The Ukrainian president did not provide additional details and did not provide evidence of the Ukrainian advance in the area.
Ukrainian presidential adviser Mihailo Podoliak said that in the SUM region a concentration of Russian soldiers and equipment was registered due to the military operations that took place for months over the border, in the Kursk region. He recommended caution in establishing the details of the situation on the ground.
“I think the (Ukrainian) army has the situation under control and I think we will see a different image in the coming days,” Podoliak told the Ukrainian Channel 24.
The popular Ukrainian military blog Deepsate, which follows the position of Russian troops using information from open sources, wrote that Russian forces have made progress in the last days around the villages inside the border.
Other Ukrainian bloggers said on Thursday that the Russian army advanced up to 20 kilometers (12 miles) away from the city of Sumî, the regional capital, and that it is likely to go south to the villages, to ensure the high land outside the city.
The Russian press reported similar advances in the region. A military profile site, “Voyennoe obozrenie”, writes that Russian forces have registered “significant progress” and that they are now positioned south by an important highway.
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