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Confusion over Russian advances in Sumy Oblast, authorities deny border breach

• 1 min read
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by Tim Zadorozhnyy
Confusion over Russian advances in Sumy Oblast, authorities deny border breach
Ukrainian servicemen guard an area at a destroyed border crossing point with Russia, in the Sumy region, on Aug. 14, 2024. President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Aug, 14 that Ukrainian troops are "moving further" into Russia, as Kyiv's biggest cross-border attack stretched into a second week. The Ukrainian army entered Russia's Kursk region on Aug. 6, 2024. (Roman Pilipey/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysts from the crowd-sourced monitoring website DeepState Map reported on Dec. 10 that Russian forces had advanced in Sumy Oblast near the border village of Oleksandriya.

DeepState is a mapping project, independent but with close ties to the Defense Ministry, widely trusted as one of the most reliable sources of accurate information on territorial changes along the front line.

The map changes showed Russian forces occupying 2 square kilometers (0,8 square miles) in Sumy and advancing in the Kursk Oblast. These developments are reflected as of December 10.

Sumy Oblast authorities, including head of the Military Administration Volodymyr Artyukh, rejected the notion that Russian forces had breached the border, calling the reports "fake" and describing them as disinformation.

"Now, there is no data from the military on the change of the situation on the border; the situation is controlled," Artyukh said.

Sumy Oblast borders Russia's Bryansk, Kursk, and Belgorod oblasts. Residents of the vulnerable border communities experience multiple attacks per day.

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Article imageThe Kyiv IndependentTim Zadorozhnyy
WarUkraineRussiaSumy OblastRussia-Ukraine border
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Tim Zadorozhnyy

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Tim Zadorozhnyy is the reporter for the Kyiv Independent, specializing in foreign policy, U.S.-Ukraine relations, and political developments across Europe and Russia. Based in Warsaw, he is pursuing studies in International Relations and the European Studies program at Lazarski University, offered in partnership with Coventry University. Tim began his career at a local television channel in Odesa in 2022. After relocating to Warsaw, he spent a year and a half with the Belarusian independent media outlet NEXTA, initially as a news anchor and later as managing editor. Tim is fluent in English, Ukrainian, and Russian.

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