Ukraine refutes Putin's claim that Russians are "10 km" from Sumy

Andrii Kovalenko, Head of Ukraine's Centre for Countering Disinformation, has refuted Kremlin ruler Vladimir Putin's claim that Russian forces are allegedly 10 km from the city of Sumy.

Source: Andrii Kovalenko on Telegram

Quote: "'10 km to Sumy,' according to Putin – this is a lie. He said a lot of nonsense yesterday in general, but regarding the city of Sumy, since spring 2025 Russia has made no advances at all. And they are located more than 20 km from the city of Sumy; our warriors from Special Operations Forces have thwarted their plans in this direction.

The Russians continue to attack Sumy from the air, but there is no question of an offensive on the city at all.

Putin is a classic liar who is presented with lying reports."

Details: The Kursk military grouping reported that on the North Slobozhanshchyna front (Sumy Oblast), the situation remains stably tense but without any breakthroughs by the Russians.

"The Russians continue to use infiltration tactics across the line of contact in small groups and, in some cases, even individual soldiers. The Russians have conducted no large-scale assault actions and are not conducting any. The Russian forces have achieved no notable tactical, let alone strategic, gains in this direction," the Kursk grouping stated.

They reported that the Russians' claims of a "major offensive" on Sumy do not correspond to the reality on the battlefield.

Background:

• On 28 June, Russian ruler Vladimir Putin claimed that Russian forces were just over 10 km from the Ukrainian city of Sumy and between 2.5 km and 5 km from Kupiansk, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was photographed beside the city's entrance sign in December 2025.
• In Sumy, 18 people were injured as a result of Russian attacks on the morning of 27 June, including two children.
• On the night of 27-28 June, Russian forces attacked Sumy with guided aerial bombs and drones.

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