Russia aims to capture two major Ukrainian cities, military warns

Ukrainian defenders face relentless attempts by Russian troops to push as close as possible to the city of Sumy, an area now under the 8th Corps' responsibility.

"Their goal, at a minimum, is to capture Sumy as an oblast center," Karpiak explained.

"They are not succeeding in this, of course. But no one said they have abandoned this idea. That is why they are pressing right now."

He added that the Russians want to "capture as much as they can."

The spokesperson highlighted that the occupiers are not merely trying to establish a buffer zone to prevent Ukraine from repeating its Kursk operation — they are actively attempting to mount a full-scale offensive.

"They are conducting offensive actions, or at least attempting offensive actions," Karpiak noted.

On April 14, the Russian army advanced near the settlement of Myropilske in Sumy Oblast.

A day earlier, the 14th Army Corps reported that the Ukrainian Defense Forces had withdrawn to new, prepared defensive lines in the Myropilske area to preserve soldiers' lives. Russian occupiers have significantly ramped up their pressure on the Sumy axis as Moscow's army attempts to expand its zones of control along the border.

Joint Forces Grouping Commander Mykhailo Drapatyi earlier explained that Russian occupation forces intend to carve out a 20-kilometer "buffer zone" along the border in Sumy and Kharkiv Oblasts, which drives their ongoing efforts to capture border villages.