Russian forces launched a drone attack on Sumy Oblast overnight on June 24, killing three people, including an 8-year-old boy, and injuring three others, Governor Oleh Hryhorov reported.
As of mid-June, Ukrainian defenders are fighting close to 695,000 Russian troops in Ukraine across a 1,200-kilometer (750-mile) front, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said.
Russia launched 272 drones overnight, including Iranian-designed Shahed-type suicide drones, along with two aeroballistic missiles and six cruise missiles, Ukraine's Air Force said.
President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned Russia's attempts to advance in Sumy Oblast, as Moscow intensifies its maximalist rhetoric.
Editor's Note: This story was updated with comments from Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha. Russian President Vladimir Putin said "all of Ukraine" belonged to Russia in a speech on June 20 at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, amid increasingly aggressive official statements about Moscow's final territorial ambitions in Ukraine. Putin's
Russian forces launched 58 Shahed-type attack drones and decoys against Ukraine overnight, targeting mainly the Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts, the Air Force said. Ukrainian defenses shot down 12 drones, while 18 disappeared from radars or were intercepted by electronic warfare systems, according to the statement.
Ukraine This Week with host Anna Belokur returns to break down the top stories of the week, including Russia’s advances in Sumy Oblast. This week also marks Russia’s 1 million casualties in its war on Ukraine.
In March 2025, as Ukrainian forces made their final retreat from Sudzha in Russia’s Kursk Oblast, new grey spots began to appear on open-source maps on the other side of the state border, in Ukraine’s Sumy Oblast. For the first time since 2022, when Moscow’s forces retreated
Key developments on June 12: * Ukrainian forces 'gradually pushing back' Russian troops from Sumy Oblast, Zelensky says * Germany to supply new Iris-T air defense systems to Ukraine, rules out Taurus missiles * Ukraine, Russia carry out another exchange of POWs under Istanbul deal * 'Juicy target' — Ukraine says it struck Russian electronics
"Our units in Sumy Oblast are gradually pushing back the occupiers. Thank you to each of our soldiers, sergeants, and officers for this result," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
President Volodymyr Zelensky rejected claims of Russian advance as "a Russian narrative," insisting that Ukraine's forces have been holding off a renewed offensive for nearly three weeks.
The boy, whose name was not disclosed, died because of his injuries several days after the strike.
Vladyslav Horai, a renowned tenor and soloist of the Odesa National Opera, was killed in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy Oblast while on a volunteer mission, the opera house reported on June 8.
There are currently no plans for mass civilian evacuations from the city of Sumy, regional Governor Oleh Hryhorov said on June 8, as Russian advances into Sumy Oblast have continued to gain momentum.
Located roughly 30 kilometers (some 18 miles) north of the city of Sumy, Loknia lies near the Russian border in a strategically exposed area.
Ukrainian air defenses shot down 36 out of the 95 Shahed-type attack drones and decoys launched by Russia overnight, the Air Force said.
Editor's note: Cukr journalists contributed to the reporting of this article. The Ukrainian city of Sumy was once again the target of a devastating Russian missile strike on June 3, with four people killed and 28 others, including three children, injured. "The body of a man, killed in the attack,
Key developments on June 3: * Russia's Crimean Bridge rocked by explosions, Ukraine's SBU claims responsibility * Russian strike on downtown Sumy kills at least 4, injures 28, authorities say * Ukraine to deploy new units to counter Russian drone attacks, Air Force says * Ukrainian strike on Russian bombers alarmed Kremlin over nuclear
"The Russians launched a savage strike on Sumy — directly targeting the city and its ordinary streets with rocket artillery. It was a fully deliberate attack on civilians," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Reports of an imminent Russian summer offensive and troop build ups on Ukraine's border are raising alarms in Sumy Oblast and fears that a large-scale assault could be on the horizon. Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 22 said he had ordered his military to create a "security buffer zone"
"(Russia) continues its terror of the borderlands, and our shared task is to save every life," Governor Oleh Hryhorov said in a statement. "I urge residents not to delay the decision to evacuate. Staying in a zone of constant danger is a direct threat to your life and health."
Russia "has enough forces there (in Kursk Oblast) to carry out operations against our border and attempt to attack the territory of Ukraine," said Andrii Demchenko, a State Border Guard Service spokesperson.
Ukrainian forces downed 10 out of the 90 drones, including Shahed-type attack drones, launched by Russia overnight, the Air Force reported. Forty-six drones were intercepted by electronic warfare or disappeared from radars without causing any damage, according to the statement.
Russian forces are accumulating 50,000 troops near Ukraine's Sumy Oblast, seeking to create a 10-kilometer buffer zone in the area, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a press briefing on May 27.
Russia launched five Iskander-M or KN-23 ballistic missiles against Ukraine overnight, as well as 88 Shahed-type attack drones and decoy drones, the Air Force said.
Russian forces launched 60 drones from the Russian cities of Kursk, Orel, Millerovo, and Primorsk-Akhtarsk, as well as from Russian-occupied Crimea, against Ukraine overnight, according to Ukraine's Air Force.
Russian forces control the Novenke, Zhuravka, Veselivka, and Basivka communities, Governor Oleh Hryhorov said. "Residents of these villages were evacuated long ago, and there is no threat to civilians."
Earlier, Russia's state-run news agency TASS claimed that Russian forces had entered Yunakivka, a village near the Russian border in Sumy Oblast.
Russian attacks killed at least 13 civilians during attacks against Ukraine over the past day, regional authorities reported. At least 51 people required medical attention.
Ukraine’s military has once again been rocked by a scandal around its leadership culture, with another high-profile commander speaking out against the country’s top brass over bad orders leading to excess losses. On May 16, well-renowned officer Oleksandr Shyrshyn, callsign “Genius,” announced his resignation from his position as
Ukrainian air defenses intercepted 63 Russian attack drones and decoy drones launched overnight, the Air Force reported. Twenty-two were shot down, while 41 were neutralized by electronic warfare systems, according to the statement.
"An official investigation into the tragedy is underway. The commander of the unit has been suspended, and the necessary information has been passed to law enforcement agencies," the National Guard said in a statement.
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