The force that’s moving toward Sumy is the same group they spent months assembling to push us out of Kursk Oblast—about 70,000 Russian troops,” said Dykyi, a former Aidar Battalion company commander.

Russian forces are advancing in the northern Ukrainian region of Sumy, bringing the regional capital within range of their drones and artillery, according to Ukrainian officials and analysts.

The advance towards the city of Sumy - the administrative center of the Sumy region - comes as Kyiv showed its ability to continue fighting by conducting a series of strikes in recent days, hitting Russian strategic bombers and the Crimean Bridge.