lDuring AST Month Russia expelled Ukrainian troops from most of the territory of Russia’s Kursk region, which was seized in the last August. The Russians deployed their own elite brigades, the North Korean army, and new weapons: fiber-light drones controlled by long, lightweight filaments rather than radio signals, making jaming impossible. Now the battle has spilled across the border and into Ukraine. The settlements near the frontier are in disarray, with thousands of civilians fleeing and evacuating. Some Russian attack forces have crossed the border, but so far, Volodymur Artif, head of the Smie province’s military regime, has argued that “they have been eliminated.”
The Ukrainian army still holds territory within Russia. In the last week of March’s appropriation attack, they crossed the border and advanced to the adjacent Belgorod region. Russian troops were bombing towns and villages within Ukraine, through which Ukrainian troops passed to reach Belgorod. Meanwhile, in the East, the Donbas region, the battle continues. On April 8, Ukrainian President Volodymia Zelensky said the Ukrainian forces had captured two Chinese citizens fighting the Russians. Zelensky said he would raise the issue with the Chinese government.
Many of those fleeing the border area near Kursk end up in Sumy, a modest city, 23km south of the border, with a front-line population of around 250,000 people. Nadia Gorbryuk, 64, has evacuated from a rural village in Uhaloydi. She didn’t want to leave her livestock, she says: When the bomb fell, she kissed the bird’s farewell when the soldier ordered her to leave. Since she heard, all nine of them have been evacuated safely.
Russia attempted to seize Smie in February 2022 at the start of a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Within six weeks, the force was evicted from the entire region. Currently, Russian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he is preparing for a new attack here. It is unclear whether it involves real efforts to occupy the region or a relentless series of attacks aimed at tying Ukrainian troops into creating a buffer zone.
Access to the city is strictly controlled by SBU, Ukraine’s national information service. Beyond the checkpoints, you can see new bunkers, trenches and defensive lines slicing the fields surrounding the city. Sumy itself is lively. Despite the rise in attacks, its population has been increasing since the start of the war, says Artyukh. The number of refugees arriving from the border area is twice as many as former residents who left. He regularly interrupts the conversation to identify background noise. Two low roars were then overhead from the Ukrainian jet, one of which was a Soviet-era Mig and the other was an American-made F-16.
In the first three months of the year, the Sumy region hit 8,925 drones, glide bombs and other missiles, rising from 3,693 in the same period last year, Artyukh said. However, there are no signs of panic in the city. Military analyst Yurii Butuzov says it’s too good for Russians to take. He believes their current purpose is to recapture the hills along the Russian side of the border, which is still occupied by Ukrainian forces.
Controlling these hilltops makes it easier to use drones to establish a 10km wide Russian controlled buffer zone within Ukraine. It would allow the Russians to redeploy most of the troops fighting here to the eastern Donbas, Butusov said. Russia has officially annexed the region, but virtually few countries recognize its claim, some of which are under Ukraine’s control. “Donbass is Putin’s strategic goal,” Butussov said.
It is unclear whether evacuees who have been traumatized from the border and village will return home. Ms Gorbliuk is currently sleeping with other displaced people in a former clinic and is being cared for by Pluriton, an organization that supports displaced people. It is run by Katerina Alisoy, a refugee from Donbas. Many older people feel that it is impossible to adapt once evacuees, which revolve around their homes, gardens and animals, are uprooted.
Many of Sumy welcome ceasefires, but no one relies on them. Residents are PH. The mood is that life has to continue. The same goes for Harukiv, a much larger city southeast of Smee. Dozens of energy pensioners shook violently at the music on the city’s central freedom square on Saturday afternoon. Dance events have been held over weekends for over a decade. It moved to the square after the previously held park was bombed twice.
Furthermore, in a village between the Russian border in the east and the frontline region of Kupiansk, soldiers from a drone unit known as the typhoon said things were quiet. No new Russian attacks were expected, and they were preparing for a redeployment to the besieged town of Donbas. Last month, the unit began using its own fiber optic drone, says its commander Mihailo.
Drones make it even more difficult for soldiers and vehicles to travel along the frontline than they are now, says Mihailo. This means that there are fewer soldiers needed for human positions. Six months ago, the Ukrainian forces were worried that the enemy was rolling them slowly, so they now believe that drones and well-prepared, defensive positions can stop the Russians. In fact, the Russian military has made little progress in over two years. It is unclear whether a ceasefire contract will arrive. Ukraine relies on its own strengths. ■
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