Ukraine denies Russian capture of Andriivka village, Sumy Oblast despite DeepState monitoring report
The Ukrainian "Kursk" Group of Forces denied on Jan. 8 that Russian forces had captured the village of Andriivka in Sumy Oblast, despite contradicting reports from the Ukrainian open-source mapping project DeepState a day earlier.
The news comes as Russian forces try to expand the combat zone along the border areas of Sumy and Kharkiv oblasts.
The village of Andriivka, less than five kilometers (three miles) from the Russian border, was under Russian control in June 2025 and liberated in August. Following Russian advances in Sumy Oblast this fall and winter, the village has once again come under attack.
The DeepState monitoring group reported on the evening of Jan. 7 that Andriivka was back under Russian control.
The "Kursk" Group of Forces denied the claim, saying Russia was attempting to expand its occupation in the region, but Andriivka remained under Ukrainian control.
"Against this backdrop, reports from one popular resource about the renewed occupation of the village of Andriivka in Sumy Oblast are surprising, to say the least," the "Kursk" Group of Forces said.
"Andriivka was and remains under the complete control of the 'Kursk' Group of Forces. Therefore, there can be no question of its occupation," the statement read.
The Kyiv Independent contacted DeepState but the group declined to comment, saying only that the situation on the front line is "reflected on the map."
At the end of 2025, Russian troops also gathered near the village of Hrabovske in Sumy Oblast. On Dec. 20, Russian forces entered the village and took 52 people to Russia, an act considered a war crime.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Dec. 22 that Russia had captured 52 civilians, including children, as well as 13 Ukrainian soldiers.
Ukraine's Human Rights Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty on Dec. 26 that he had received a list of 52 people taken from Hrabovske, which did not include any children.
Abducted civilians remain in Russian-held territory, while Kyiv has urged international partners to help return them to areas controlled by Ukraine.
On Dec. 30, the "Kursk" Group of Forces said that Russian forces continued attempts to seize Ukrainian territory in the Sumy Oblast border area to create a so-called "buffer zone." Fighting was ongoing near the villages of Yunakivka, Yablunivka, Varachyne, Andriivka, and Kindrativka.
As of Jan. 7, Yunakivka, Yablunivka, and Andriivka were reportedly under Russian control, according to the DeepState monitoring group.
