Russia has massed about 50,000 troops along Ukraine’s Sumy Oblast, three times the size of Kyiv’s forces in the key region — with Moscow preparing its latest push along the front lines that have grown to more than 750 miles long.
After putting an end to Ukraine’s surprise counter-invasion of the Kursk region in April, Russia is looking to flood the border with troops and conquer Sumy, which had served as a main hub for Kyiv’s defenses and the assault that had left Moscow humiliated.
“Their main strategy [is to] wear us down with their numbers,” Ukraine’s top military commander, Gen. Oleksandr Syrskiy, told the Wall Street Journal.
While Russia’s invasion force has mainly focused on the southeast border spanning more than 620 miles, the front line has grown by more than 100 miles over the last year as Moscow targets Sumy and other regions farther north.
After taking back Kursk, Russian President Vladimir Putin said his army would create a “security buffer zone” along Sumy, the same words he used when mounting his initial invasion in 2022.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Moscow was planning to form a 6-mile buffer zone, which would leave Russia’s “largest, strongest” troops with a large area for new assault.
The latest push came last week when Russian troops attempted to advance into the region, with Syrskyi touting that a defensive push prevented the 50,000 Moscow fighters from deploying on Thursday.
Ukrainian troops fighting in Sumy, however, know it’s only a matter of time before the Russian troops make their way in due to their sheer numbers and Moscow’s meat grinder combat style.
“The enemy is losing 300 to 400 people per day across the region, but they can deal with that level of casualties,” one special forces commander told the WSJ. “They keep bringing in reserves.”
A platoon commander who spent seven hours fighting Russian soldiers in June recalled how his team was pinned down in the trenches taking on wave after wave of invaders.
“It was the cruelest fight I’ve ever been in,” the 25-year-old platoon commander said. “They were attacking with infantry, drones, grenade launchers, machine guns, artillery, cluster munitions. Everything … We never had more than a five-minute break while they were regrouping.”
The Ukrainian troops have also complained that despite the months-long counter-invasion into Kursk, which had Russia on the back foot, Kyiv’s commanders allegedly failed to fortify the Sumy border.
Syrskyi tried to quell the criticisms over the lack of fortification in Sumy, telling reporters Thursday that the area will have proper defenses to halt Moscow’s looming attack.
“Additional fortifications, the establishment of ‘kill zones,’ the construction of anti-drone corridors to protect our soldiers and ensure more reliable logistics for our troops are obvious tasks that are being carried out,” he said.
The buildup in Sumy comes as analysts and experts have warned that Moscow is likely preparing for a big push farther into Ukraine this summer after months of small advances along the front lines.
