Ukrainian troops are still rejecting Russian and North Korean forces in the Kursk region of Russia, but face a possible new attack in the Northeast of Sumy, Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday.
Military analysts say the Russians are close to expelling the Ukrainian forces from their base in the western region of Russia, taken on a mass forest on the border last August. This led US President Donald Trump to warn that thousands of Ukrainian troops were “completely surrounded.”
The Russian Ministry of Defense said its forces resumed two more villages near Sudzha, 10 km from the Ukraine border, a city that Moscow said have recaptured on Thursday.
The Russian Emergency Ministry said more than 300 residents were evacuated from areas around Sudzha.
The acting governor of the region, Alexander Khinshtein, said authorities discussed the restoration of recaptured areas and established how many residents they wanted to return to their settlements.
Zelensky said on social networks after being informed by his main general, that Kiev’s troops were not surrounded in Kursk, but Moscow was accumulating forces nearby for an attack.
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“This indicates an intention to attack our Sumy region,” he said. “We are aware of this and we will fight it.”
“I would like everyone (our) partners to understand exactly what Putin is planning, what he is preparing and what he will ignore.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Trump’s proposal for a 30-day ceasefire with Ukraine was supported, but would continue to fight until several crucial conditions were defined.
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On Saturday, British Prime Minister Keir Strmer said the European nations and the Western Allies were intensifying preparations to support Ukraine if a peace agreement is closed with Russia.
“The accumulation of Russian forces indicates that Moscow intends to continue ignoring diplomacy,” Zelensky added. “It is clear that Russia is extending the war.”
