Russian Troops Seize Four Villages In Sumy Ukraine

Russian/Religious Military Yevgeny Yepanchintsev/TAS

JAKARTA - The governor of the Sumy region of Ukraine, on Russia's borders, said Russian troops had seized four villages as part of efforts to create a "barrier zone" in Ukrainian territory.

The Russian military and Russian military bloggers have in recent days reported captured villages in Sumy, which have been targeted by Russian airstrikes for months.

Sumy Regional Governor by Hryhorov, wrote on Facebook, listing four villages within the border which he said are now controlled by Russian troops -- Novenke, Basivka, Veselivka, and Zhuravka. He said the residents had long been evacuated.

"The enemy continues to work forward with the aim of establishing a so-called 'barrier zone'," he wrote.

Ukrainian troops, he said, kept the situation under control, causing damage from the right shots to the enemy.

Hryhorov said fighting continued around other villages in the area, including Volodymyrivka and Bilovodiv -- two settlements that the Russian Ministry of Defense now controls.

A Russian report in recent days said Moscow forces had taken control of villages in the region.

The Ukrainian State Emergency Service reported one person was killed on Monday, May 26, when Russian troops opened fire on the Sumy region west of the captured villages.

Sumy region is against Russia's Kursk region, where Ukrainian troops launched a massive cross-border attack last August.

Moscow said Ukrainian troops had been expelled from Kursk, but Kyiv said its troops were still active there.