Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has indicated that Russia is “preparing something” in Belarus this summer, using military drills as a cover.
“This summer, Russia is preparing something there under the guise of military exercises,” Mr. Zelensky stated at a summit in Poland, without providing specifics or evidence.
Russia and Belarus have announced joint military drills scheduled for September.
In the meantime, Russian troops are attempting to establish a buffer zone in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region, although they have not achieved significant success so far, according to the regional governor.
Damage seen following a Russian attack on a bakery in Sumy Oblast, Ukraine on 18 April
Ukraine has expressed concerns for months regarding Russian troops trying to advance into Sumy.
Russia claims its forces have secured some territory in the area and have expelled all Ukrainian troops from Kursk.
‘Grey zone’
Sumy Governor Oleh Hryhorov reported via the Telegram app that four border villages in Sumy—Zhuravka, Veselivka, Basivka, and Novenke—are in a “grey zone” due to Russian attacks but remain under Ukrainian control.
“Currently, the enemy continues to attempt to carve out a buffer zone in our region, but has not achieved any significant success,” Mr. Hryhorov said.
He emphasized that “there is no question of their occupation at the moment”.
The Russian defense ministry announced that its troops captured the village of Doroshivka in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, although this claim has not been independently verified.
Earlier in April, Russia’s defense ministry stated its forces had taken control of Zhuravka and Basivka, which Ukraine denied.
DeepState, an open-source map based on battlefield observations, indicates that approximately 52 square kilometers of the Sumy region are currently contested in a grey zone.
Russian attacks on Kyiv killed at least 12 people last week (Photo: Ukrainian State Emergency Service)
The Russian movements in Sumy follow reports of Russian and Ukrainian forces exchanging drone fire earlier this morning, resulting in the death of a 12-year-old girl in Ukraine and two individuals in a Russian border region, officials reported.
These attacks occurred less than two days into a week that the United States has warned will be “critical” for the peace process, with U.S. officials threatening to abandon their push for a ceasefire without visible progress soon.
Russian strikes on Ukraine have killed numerous people over the past month, including in the capital, Kyiv, while front-line hostilities show no signs of reducing.
Read more Ukraine stories
Yesterday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a three-day truce in May to align with Moscow’s World War II commemorations.
Mr. Zelensky described this as a strategy for Mr. Putin to “have silence” during Moscow’s 9 May military parade, demanding an immediate ceasefire.
According to the Ukrainian air force, Russia unleashed 100 drones on Ukraine between late yesterday and early this morning.
“The enemy attack resulted in a tragedy. In Gubynykha, in the Samar district, a 12-year-old girl lost her life,” the governor of Ukraine’s central Dnipropetrovsk region, Sergiy Lysak, shared on Telegram.
Gubynykha is located about 140 kilometers (90 miles) west of the front line.
“A 6-year-old girl and two adults sustained injuries,” he added.
In Russia’s Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, “an enemy drone intentionally hit a moving vehicle carrying five men,” regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov reported.
“To our deep sorrow, two individuals perished at the scene before medical personnel arrived,” he noted.
The Russian army claimed to have shot down 40 drones over various regions overnight, including four over the Russian-controlled Crimean peninsula.
Since launching its offensive in Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has seized extensive territories in four Ukrainian regions and proclaimed them as part of its territory, in addition to Crimea, which it annexed in 2014.
