"Can not be ruled out": State Border Guard Service of Ukraine on the threat of Russian offensive on Sumy region

The possibility of Russia launching an offensive on Sumy region after Kharkiv is not completely ruled out. First of all, the occupiers may take this step to distract Ukrainian forces from other areas.

The defense forces in the Sumy region are ready for such a development, and the defense in the area is being further strengthened. This was stated by the spokesman for the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, Andrii Demchenko, on Radio Liberty.

He is convinced that, as in the north of Kharkiv region, the invaders may become more active and launch an offensive on Sumy region.

"We can never rule out the possibility, and I emphasized that this includes the Sumy direction. The enemy can attackat any time even though it does not have sufficient forces, to try to do something similar to what is happening now in the Kharkiv direction. It is done in order to stretch the front line, the line of active hostilities, and to distract the defense forces of our country," Demchenko emphasized.

According to the SBGSU spokesperson, each component of the defense forces has its own area of responsibility in the Sumy sector, they all act in a coordinated manner, and defense in this area should be further strengthened.

"As long as we have such a neighbor, of course, we need to be prepared for any situation. And we must continue to build up our defense capabilities... We must also understand that the length of the border with our enemy is quite large. It is more than 560 kilometers in the Sumy region alone. And, in fact, even involving the forces we have, which we can involve there, we must keep our defense strong because the enemy is superior in terms of equipment, munitions, and personnel, unfortunately," Demchenko emphasized.

Earlier, ISW assessed what is behind Russia's massing of forces on the border with Sumy region: in the Kursk region, understaffed and scattered units totaling about 10,000 occupants have been assembled. The analysts believe that even such a grouping will probably achieve the desired effect of attracting and entrenching the Ukrainian Defense Forces in another area of the international border.

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