Border guards and Ukrainian troops in Sumy Oblast stopped three groups of Russian saboteurs from advancing, Ukraine's State Border Guard Service reported on March 17.
The Ukrainian forces opened fire on the groups, and "in all three cases, the enemy's plans were foiled, the enemy retreated," the State Border Guard Service said on Telegram.
Sumy Oblast borders the Russian oblasts of Bryansk, Kursk, and Belgorod. Russian forces retreated from Sumy Oblast in April 2022 but Russia continues to attack the region on a daily basis.
The attacks on Sumy Oblast have recently intensified, with Russian forces firing 66 times at the region on March 16 alone, according to the local authorities. Russian forces use aviation, drones, artillery, mortars, and drones to attack.
Additional reserve forces were moved forward to strengthen the direction where Russian forces were approaching, the border service said.
Russia's Kursk and Belgorod oblasts have recently experienced attacks from anti-Kremlin militia. On the morning of March 12, several anti-Kremlin armed groups crossed the border into Russia from Ukraine to conduct combat operations, according to the groups.
According to Ukraine's military intelligence spokesperson Andrii Yusov, the units are comprised of Russian citizens acting as part of Ukraine’s "security and defense forces."
The Russian Volunteer Corps claimed to have captured 25 Russian soldiers during their incursions into Kursk and Belgorod oblasts.
The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that it “thwarted Kyiv’s attempt to make a breakthrough into the Russian border territory in the Belgorod and Kursk oblasts,” adding that the incursion took place “simultaneously in three directions.”
The border guard earlier reported repelling a saboteur group in Sumy Oblast on March 7.
Kateryna Hodunova
