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Russia Builds Up Troops and Equipment in Kursk Region Ahead of Possible Sumy Offensive
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![Photo of Maryna Kulakova]( "Photo of Maryna Kulakova")
Russia has gathered enough troops and equipment in the Kursk region to potentially launch an attack on Ukrainian territory, according to Andrii Demchenko, spokesperson for Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service, during a television broadcast on May 29.
"The enemy indeed has a large number of forces and equipment, including both personnel and military hardware, in the Kursk region," Demchenko stated.
He explained that this accumulation began when Russia attempted to push back Ukrainian Defense Forces conducting operations in the Kursk region, and continues to maintain its presence there.
"While the number of forces fluctuates periodically, the enemy still has sufficient strength in this area to carry out actions along our border, potentially attempting to launch an attack on Ukrainian territory," Demchenko noted.
He also emphasized that the number of Russian reconnaissance and sabotage groups remains high, particularly in the Sumy region, where they are most active.
Demchenko mentioned that attempts by Russian groups to infiltrate the Kharkiv region have been detected, and there remains a threat to the Chernihiv region, although recently no such activities have been observed by the Border Guard Service.
He also pointed out that no attempts by Russian sabotage and reconnaissance groups have been detected along the Belarusian border, nor has the formation of strike groups been observed. However, this threat remains and is expected to increase after Russia and Belarus conduct joint military exercises this fall.
Russia has captured several villages in the northern Sumy region as part of its effort to establish a “buffer zone” along the border, said Oleh Hryhorov, head of the Sumy Regional Military Administration. Prior to this, it was reported that Russian troops are increasing their use of small assault groups across multiple directions in the Sumy region.
At the same time, Russian forces continue to maintain a presence along the border with Ukraine’s Chernihiv region, putting pressure on Ukrainian troops and preventing the redeployment of units to more active frontlines, according to Vadym Mysnyk, spokesperson for the “Siversk” Operational Tactical Group.
