Ukraine says Sumy region cleared of Russian forces

According to Ukraine's The Kyiv Independent, Sumy region is completely free of Russian forces. Sumy Oblast Governor announced on Facebook that the region is clear of Russia's forces, but explosions may still be heard as rescue service workers dispose off ammunition left by the Russian military.

Head of the Sumy Regional Military Administration Dmytro Zhyvytskyy posted a relevant announcement on Telegram, Ukrinform reported.

He stressed that the territory of the region was not safe, as there were still many mined and unexplored areas. Zhyvytskyy urged local residents not to drive to the side of the road and not to use forest roads, as well as not to approach destroyed vehicles or former Russian positions.

Sumy was the site of a major military engagement that began on 24 February 2022, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as part of the Northeastern Ukraine offensive, and ended on 4 April 2022 when Russia withdrew all of its forces from Sumy Oblast.

On 24 February 2022 the Russian army nearly captured Sumy, located near the Russia–Ukraine border, with little initial resistance. Ukrainian soldiers and militia began engaging the Russian forces within the city, resulting in heavy urban fighting.

On 4 April 2022 Governor of Sumy Oblast Dmytro Zhyvytskyi stated that Russian troops no longer occupied any towns or villages in Sumy Oblast and had mostly withdrawn, while Ukrainian troops were working to push out the remaining units.

Around 600 Indian students, all of whom returned Friday, were holed up at the university in the northeast Ukrainian city, just about 60 km from the Russia border.

Many of them recounted a harrowing two weeks as they struggled to survive in a war zone — melting ice for drinking water and sheltering in cold underground bunkers amid fading hopes for evacuation.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday night that work has begun to dig through the rubble in Borodianka, another city northwest of Kyiv that was occupied by the Russians.

He also said “it is much scarier” there, with even more victims of the Russian troops.

In his daily nighttime video address to the nation Thursday, Zelenskyy said the Russians were preparing to shock the world in the same way by showing corpses in Mariupol and falsely claiming they were killed by the Ukrainian defenders.