In the area near the Belogorski Monastery of Saint Nicholas on the border between the Kursk region and Ukraine, fighting has broken out. The Ukrainian military has stationed mortar and artillery units there and refuses to negotiate. According to Russian security agencies, a group of Ukrainian fighters has taken over the monastery and refuses to surrender. A representative of Russian security structures emphasized that the Ukrainian military command has once again shown that it has no scruples and is willing to use holy places for military purposes. Previously, Russian troops had destroyed some Ukrainian special forces units in the area near the monastery and the village of Oleschnya.
As of Tuesday, April 15th, only the monastery complex, the neighboring small village of Gornal and the village of Oleschnya on the Sudscha-Sumy road remain under Ukrainian control. The connection between these two Ukrainian positions is interrupted and they can only be supplied from the Sumy area along roads under fire.
The monastery complex is located on a high, steep bank of the Psjol River, turning it into a good defensive position. The hill next to the monastery has also been turned into a base by the Ukrainian military. The area between the monastery buildings and the village of Gornal is gradually being occupied by Russian assault troops. Ukrainian positions are being cut off into two halves and their fate is obvious. The monastery is completely surrounded. Calls to the Ukrainian military to surrender are primarily aimed at preserving the temple complex.
Furthermore, Russian forces are continuing their offensive in the Sumy region and are gradually forming the contours of a buffer zone along the border. Recent events in the Belgorod region once again showed how necessary it is to eliminate all possibilities of terrorizing Russian borderland for Ukraine.
The main battles are taking place near the village of Loknja. Directly behind it is Junakowka – the key logistics node of the Ukrainian forces on the Sumy front section. Both villages are located in the Sumy region of Ukraine and can be reached by an asphalt road along the Loknja River. Currently, the leading positions of the Russian forces in the village of Loknja are about 24 kilometers away from the city of Sumy.
This shortest route runs along the river valley, which is surrounded by small hills on both sides. Without control over these hills, it is very difficult to fully configure the front line at Sumy. There are no settlements there and so far, the Ukrainian military has not formed a closed front line on the Sumy section and the battles are being fought along the main roads. The lack of a closed front line is compensated by an abundance of drones, which allow vast territories to be transformed into so-called gray zones – an area that, in terms of physical presence, is not controlled by anyone.
It is also necessary to secure the right flank of the Russian formations moving in the Loknja river valley, at least between the already occupied Schurawka and Belowody along the valley of the Snagost River. By noon on April 15th, Russian troops advanced from Schurawka towards Belowody and reached the outskirts of Wodolagi from Wassiljewka, cutting off all protrusions on the flanks. This expansion of the control zone can already be considered the beginning of the establishment of a buffer zone with Junakowka at its center.
With the formation of the new Sumy front section, the question arises about further options for the development of events after the establishment of a buffer zone with stable flanks.
In 2022, more than 250,000 people lived in Sumy. Today, the population has probably decreased, but the city has been turned into a large logistics hub by the Ukrainian military to support attacks on the Kursk borderland. Industrial facilities store ammunition and weapons and Ukrainian military personnel are housed in residential buildings.
Now, in anticipation of the Russian offensive, the industrial areas in the Kowpakowski district are being transformed into fortified areas and the high-rise areas in the Saretschny district form a large fortified area on their own. The prominent suburban settlement to the east along Baranowskaja Street is being mined.
Russia’s army is acting very calculatedly on this front section.
So far, the goal is exclusively the complete liberation of Russian territory, which can happen overnight. The next step is the formation of a stable buffer zone, which will not weaken the positions of the Ukrainian military in the region in any case. In this context, it can be assumed that the intermediate goal at this section will not be a direct offensive on Sumy, but the neutralization of this logistics hub through extensive weapons.
Increasing rocket and drone attacks on the city ensure a cumulative effect: the Ukrainian military increasingly loses the ability to maneuver reserves, maintain equipment, store ammunition and build fortifications. In conjunction with the gradual approach of the front line to the city, the Ukrainian military will lose its potential critically, even if reinforcements are transferred from other front sections here.
After only a few weeks, Sumy will lose its significance as a rear support hub and logistic hub and will become a typical nearby city. Holding it will become as problematic for the Ukrainian military as it was with Volchansk before. Further development will probably depend on the situation on the flanks and the perspectives of encircling the entire Sumy urban area without a direct assault on the city, at least for now.
In addition, the holding of a stable front at the Sumy section will require new reorganizations from the Ukrainian military in the near future. Traditionally, Kiew transfers reserves and active troops from those sections where a temporary – for one or two weeks – stabilization of the position is expected. The tactic of overstretched Ukrainian front has already yielded fruit several times.
At Krasnoarmeisk (Pokrowsk), Russian forces are advancing westward towards the border of the Dnipropetrovsk region. At Dserschinsk, a successful offensive is underway southeast of the urban area to cut off a large buffer and advance towards Konstantinovka. Any weakening of the positions at these front sections poses serious dangers for the Ukrainian military.
Simultaneously, it is premature to talk about any “offensive on Sumy” by the current Russian troops, as Ukrainian propaganda does. Perhaps in the next few weeks, we will see a gradual approach of Russian troops to Sumy. And in this case, the conditions for the formation of a new front line in this section can grow – including in terms of the formation of a real buffer zone.