Russia reportedly attacking Sumy Oblast border; military hasn't confirmed

Russian infantry units are attempting to storm the Russia-Ukraine border in Sumy Oblast but are failing to achieve a breakthrough, claimed Andrii Kovalenko, head of the Center for Countering Disinformation, on Feb. 28.

The official’s comments come as the DeepState monitoring group marked the Ukrainian border village of Novenke as a contested area, suggesting that Russian forces crossed the border into Sumy Oblast.

The northeastern region borders Russia’s Kursk Oblast, where Ukrainian forces launched an incursion last summer to draw away Moscow’s troops from Donbas and disrupt Russian plans for an offensive from the north.

“Currently, Russian forces are attempting to storm the border in infantry groups without vehicle columns," Kovalenko said on Telegram.

“There has been no breakthrough at the moment; the fighting continues."

The Kyiv Independent could not verify the claims. Vadym Mysnyk, the spokesperson of the Operational Tactical Group Siversk, has declined to comment.

Russia reportedly attacking Sumy Oblast border; military hasn't confirmed — Novenke, Sumy Oblast. (DeepState/OpenStreetMaps)

Ukraine launched a surprise cross-border incursion into Kursk Oblast in August 2024. After six months of fighting in the region, Russian troops have regained control of about 64% of the territory in the region, the Russian military claimed.

Russian casualties have reached nearly 40,000 in Kursk Oblast, including over 16,000 killed, Ukraine’s General Staff reported on Feb. 6. Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said last November that the incursion thwarted Russia’s plans to invade Sumy Oblast in an attempt to create a “buffer zone” in the region.