The Army head said

Oleksandr Syrskyi, the head of the Ukrainian army, said his troops had blocked Russia’s progress in the northeastern border area of ​​Sumy.

During a visit to the frontline on Thursday, Siersky said the battle line had been “stable” and that the Russian summer offensive in the region was “choked to the nose”.

However, Syrskyi also added that he went to inspect the fortifications in the area in person, and more was urgently needed.

Syrskyi’s comments on the success of Ukrainian troops in Sumy said in a latest statement from Ukrainian officials that Russia’s pressure on the region is declining.

However, border guard spokesman Andriy Demchenko said earlier this week that the situation remains “turbulent”.

Sumy borders the Russian region of the Kursk region, part of which was captured and occupied by Ukrainian troops with a surprise offensive, and then was completely driven out almost a few months later.

The Kursk invasion was a embarrassment for Russia, and in April President Vladimir Putin announced a plan to establish a “safety buffer” along the border to provide “extra support” to the Russian region of Kharkiv, Sumi and Chernishiv regions in Ukraine.

Since then, Moscow has been working hard. In late May, Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky said 50,000 of Russia’s “largest and most powerful” troops were concentrated at the border and planned to build a 10-kilometer (6-mile) buffer zone.

Criticism of the lack of fortifications in certain areas of the Sumi area – In a statement Thursday, Syrskyi tried to calm public attention to delayed construction.

“Extra fortifications, establishing ‘kill areas’, building anti-numerable corridors to protect our soldiers and ensuring more reliable logistics for our troops are obvious tasks,” he said.

However, Syrskyi acknowledges that these improvements must be done better and more efficiently.

In the early days of Russian invasion of Ukraine, the lack of fortifications in certain areas of Ukraine allowed Moscow to make progress on its northern border and on the illegally annexed Crimean Peninsula.

In the fall of 2024, Ukrainian troops are still advancing in the Kursk region of the Russian border, Sumi is still relatively unscathed, and in the fall of 2024, a window of opportunity to safely and quickly build fortifications in Sumi.

It may be too late now, because Russia is undoubtedly well aware of the frontline parts of the lack of strong fortifications.

Over the past few months, Moscow has claimed to have captured several villages while raiding Sumi City with heavy missiles, killing dozens of people. A ballistic missile attack on April 13 At least 34 people were killed and 117 injured.

Deepstate, a group that monitors Ukraine’s latest frontline development, confirmed by citing sources that battles are raging in various unfortunate areas of Sumy. Delays with “much-needed fortifications” or “low quality of some canoes” are no longer ignored, DeepState analysts said.

Asked about the summer offense at a forum in St. Petersburg last week, Putin said Russia had no “target to capture Sumi, but I don’t rule it out.” He said Russian troops have established a buffer zone with a depth of 8-12 kilometers.

Russia’s full invasion of Ukraine was launched in February 2022 and is now in its fourth year.

Large-scale Russian drone attacks on Ukrainian cities are on the rise. In recent weeks, the Kiev capital has targeted a record number of drones that overwhelmed air defense and caused a deadly explosion.

Recent talks between Ukraine and Russia have led to large-scale prisoner exchanges, but so far, no tangible progress has been made in the ceasefire.

Earlier this week, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said European and Canadian allies had promised Ukraine 3.5 billion euros (£30 billion; $4.1 billion).

But Kiev remains nervous about U.S. President Donald Trump’s commitment to the cause of Ukraine and his obligations to his volatility with Zelensky.

But Trump said on Wednesday that a meeting he held with Zelensky was “unprecedented” by the NATO summit in The Hague.

He then told BBC Ukraine’s Myroslava Petsa at a press conference that he was considering providing Kiev to US Patriot air defense missiles to prevent Russian strikes.

He said: “We will see if some can be provided.