Ukraine Reclaims Two Villages In Sumy Ahead Of Trump-Putin Meeting

JAKARTA - Ukraine reclaimed two villages in its eastern region, Sumy, according to the Kyiv military. This advancement adds to the recent acquisition of small territory along the border with Russia ahead of peace negotiations at the summit of US and Russian leaders scheduled for Friday this week.

US President Donald Trump has not yet said Kyiv and Moscow must surrender their land to end the war in Ukraine.

Ukrainian troops have freed the settlements of Stepne and Novokostiantynivka along the front lines in Sumy, the General Staff said in a report Tuesday, August 12.

"It's difficult. However, we managed to contain the enemy," Ukraine's top commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, wrote on Facebook, after a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and top Ukrainian officials.

"In the Sumy region, we are conducting active operations and have achieved several successes in efforts to liberate Ukrainian territory," he continued.

Victory on Monday followed news on Sunday, August 10, the Kyiv military had reclaimed Bezsalivka village.

This small progress comes as Russian troops have moved forward to the west for months along the 1.000 km (620 miles) front line, capturing new villages almost every day, especially in the Donetsk region.

Russia, which carried out a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, launched a new attack this year in Sumy, following Putin's order to form a "barrier zone" there and threaten the regional capital.

Ukraine's official online map project shows Russian troops control about 200 square km (77 square miles) of Sumy, and a total of about 114,000 square kilometers (44,000 square miles) in Ukraine.