Zelenskyy says Ukraine halts Russian troop advance in Sumy region

Ukrainian forces halt Russian troops in Sumy, intensify fighting along border; Zelenskyy calls for stronger sanctions on Russia.

Ukrainian forces have stopped Russian troops advancing in the northeastern Sumy region and are now battling to regain control along the border with Russia, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

In remarks released for publication by his office on Saturday (June 14, 2025), Mr. Zelenskyy said that Moscow has amassed about 53,000 troops in the direction of Sumy.

“We are levelling the position. The fighting there is along the border. You should understand that the enemy has been stopped there. And the maximum depth at which the fighting takes place is 7 km (4.35 miles) from the border,” Mr. Zelenskyy said.

Reuters could not verify the battlefield reports.

Russia’s troops have been focusing their assaults on the eastern Donetsk region. But since the start of the month, they have intensified their attacks in the north-east, announcing plans to create a so-called ‘buffer zone’ in the Sumy and Kharkiv regions.

The Russian war in Ukraine is in its fourth year, but it has intensified in recent weeks.

Ukraine conducted an audacious drone attack this month that took out multiple aircraft inside Russia and also hit the bridge connecting Russia to the annexed Crimean Peninsula using underwater explosives.