President Zelenskyy: Ukraine fully controls situation in Sumy region

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced that Ukrainian troops fully control the situation in the Sumy region.

“The Russian side tried to hold a propaganda in Ryzhevka village,” President Zelenskyy said in Telegram, according to RBC.

“As of June 10 morning, the Russian flag was removed in the village. The most difficult situation is observed in the direction of Donetsk. The Ukrainian Defence Forces are doing their best to stabilise and protect our positions,” the Ukrainian president added.

Ryzhevka is located in the Sumy region of Ukraine, on the border with the Kursk region of Russia. According to the 2001 census, 857 people lived there.

The village is adjacent to the Russian village of Tyotkino, located upstream of the river, which has been regularly shelled since the beginning of Russia's military operation. The Defence Ministry reported on repelling an attempt by Ukrainian saboteurs to break through the border in Tyotkino in spring.

Head of Russia’s Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov has recently announced that Ryzhevka was captured easily within just three days and the Ukrainian Armed Forces suffered heavy losses.

According to the Ukrainian DeepState project, there were no Ukrainian troops in Ryzhevka as the village is located in the “gray zone” and, due to its proximity to the border, there is no opportunity to completely control it without occupying Tyotkino.

Russian troops left the Sumy and Kyiv regions two years ago in spring 2022. The Ukrainian authorities evacuated people in a five-kilometre zone on the border of the Sumy region with Russia last year, while this spring they offered residents of a ten-kilometre zone to leave.

Chief of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov said in an interview with The New York Times that intense hostilities may start in the Sumy region soon.