Territorial Defense Forces in Sumy Oblast successfully fought off a Russian subversive and reconnaissance group attempting to cross into Ukraine, Lieutenant General Serhii Naiev, responsible for the defense of Ukraine's northern border, reported on Feb. 4.
Ukrainian soldiers opened fire on an armed group of ten people on the outskirts of the town Hlukhiv, close to the border with Russia, at 6.20 p.m. on Feb. 3.
The Russian group split into two, with one group attempting to bypass the Ukrainians from the flank side, Naiev reported. But a Ukrainian counter-sabotage team arrived and fired at the enemy, pushing them back from the Ukrainian border after a 90-minute battle.
The other Russian group evacuated the dead and wounded.
Although Sumy Oblast was liberated from Russian occupation in spring 2022, it suffers frequent shelling and attacks from Russia. Russian forces shelled Sumy Oblast 76 times in 16 separate attacks throughout Feb. 3, firing at five communities along the border.
On Jan. 27, a Russian reconnaissance and sabotage group staged an attack that killed two civilians.
Elsa Court
