In Sumy and Kharkiv regions, the enemy is capturing new villages – Drapaty

Russian occupation forces are trying to create a 20-kilometer “buffer zone” along the border in Sumy and Kharkiv regions, capturing border villages.

This was stated by the commander of the Joint Forces Group, Mykhailo Drapaty, to Ukrainian Pravda.

According to him, the Russians are gradually “biting off” new villages, even where the front line does not actually pass. The military calls this “tactical diversionary actions” or the “thousand cuts” strategy. After such actions, the enemy does not use heavy equipment and does not conduct active assaults.

“We cannot say that this is a ‘secondary front’ or a ‘front for drawing our forces away.’ Each enemy group has its own tasks. For the ‘Sever’ group, which is located in the Sumy and Kharkiv regions, this is a buffer zone or, as they themselves call it, a ‘zone of influence,’” Drapaty explained.

The commander clarified that “we have identified a total of 12 areas where the enemy will try to expand control with forces from an assault company to a battalion.”

“These are, in particular, the Krasnopil, Velykopysariv and Zolochiv directions,” Drapaty added.

As a reminder, as of Friday, March 6, Russian troops had advanced near the village of Pokrovka in the Krasnopil community of Sumy region.

As reported, Russianoccupiers kidnapped and took residents of the border village of Sopych, Esman community, in the Sumy region, to Russia .

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