Russia’s military said Friday that its forces captured another village in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region, where Moscow has intensified its attacks in recent weeks.
The Defense Ministry said troops had taken control of the village of Yablunivka, located about nine kilometers (five miles) from the Russian border, as part of efforts to create what President Vladimir Putin has called a “buffer zone” inside Ukrainian territory.
The advance comes as Moscow continues to reject ceasefire proposals, instead demanding that Ukraine cede more land and abandon Western military support as conditions for peace.
Russia initially attempted to seize the regional capital, Sumy, during the early stages of its 2022 invasion but was repelled by Ukrainian forces later that year.
In 2024, Kyiv launched its own cross-border incursion into Russia’s southwestern Kursk region, using Sumy as a staging ground. Following Russia’s recapture of territory in Kursk earlier this year, Putin ordered a renewed push into northeastern Ukraine.
Russia’s Defense Ministry also said Friday that its troops had captured two more villages in the eastern Donetsk region, which Moscow claims to have annexed.
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