Russian troops poised for new offensive on Sumy Oblast — Ukrainian Border Guard Service

“The enemy truly has a large number of forces and equipment — both personnel and military equipment — within Kursk Oblast,” Demchenko said.

The troop accumulation began when Russia attempted to push out Ukrainian Defense Forces operating in the Kursk area.

“That’s why the enemy continues to hold them there," he explained.

"We observe shifts in the number of personnel and equipment in that direction. But again, the enemy has enough resources in place to carry out actions against our border and to attempt an incursion into Ukrainian territory.”

Russia’s new offensive preparations

At the end of March, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russian forces were preparing for an offensive on Sumy and Kharkiv oblasts.

On April 9, Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said that Russia had already effectively begun its offensive on those regions. Ukraine’s General Staff later clarified that his words were a statement of fact, not a reason for panic.

According to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), by launching an offensive on Sumy Oblast, Russian forces are likely attempting to establish a "buffer zone" along the border and may also try to position artillery close enough to threaten civilians in the city of Sumy itself.

On April 11, the then-head of the Sumy Regional Administration, Volodymyr Artiukh, stated that no Russian troops were yet present in Sumy Oblast. However, on April 17, Zelenskyy reported that 60,000 Russian troops had already been amassed in that direction.

On April 21, Syrskyi confirmed that intense fighting was taking place both inside Sumy Oblast and across the border in Russia, where Russian troops were attempting to expel Ukrainian forces from the Kursk Oblast and seize border areas.

As of May 26, Russian forces had temporarily occupied the settlements of Novenke and Basivka in the Yunakivka muniipality, as well as Veselivka and Zhuravka in the Khotyn muniipality of Sumy Oblast.

ISW analysts noted in their May 26 report that Russia is redeploying troops from Donetsk to Sumy, suggesting an effort to shift the focus of their offensive operations.

On May 27, the DeepState monitoring platform confirmed that Russian forces had advanced near settlements in the Sumy, Kharkiv, and Donetsk oblasts.