"It cannot be ruled out" — Ukrainian Border Guard Service on possible Russian offensive in Sumy region

A Russian forces' offensive in the Sumy region should not be ruled out, said Andriy Demchenko, spokesman for the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, on Radio Svoboda.

According to him, as in the north of Kharkiv region, the Russian military may try to attack there to distract Ukrainian forces from other parts of the front.

"We can never rule it out, and I emphasized this, including in the Sumy direction. The enemy may at any time, even though it does not have sufficient forces, try to do something similar to what is happening now in the Kharkiv sector. It is to stretch the front line, the line of active hostilities and actually stretch the defense forces of our country," said Demchenko.

He noted that each component of the defense forces has its area of responsibility in the Sumy direction, and they all act in a coordinated manner, and defense in this direction should be further strengthened.

"As long as we have such a neighbor, of course, we need to be prepared for any situation. And in fact, we must continue to build up our defense capabilities... We must also understand that the length of the border with our enemy is quite large. It is more than 560 kilometers in the Sumy region alone. And, in fact, even involving the forces we have, which we can bring there, we must keep our defense strong, because the enemy is superior in terms of equipment, munitions, and personnel, unfortunately," said the spokesman for the State Border Guard Service.

Battles with Russian forces in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region

On May 10, Ukraine's Defense Ministry reported that the Russian occupation army had intensified attacks in the northern sector. Around 5 a.m., the enemy tried to break through the Ukrainian defense in the Kharkiv region. The Ukrainian Defense Forces met the invading forces with fire.

At 11:00 p.m. on May 10, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that defensive battles were currently underway in the Kharkiv region. Counterattacks continue in the directions of Lyptsi and Vovchansk. The Russian army is using infantry and equipment. 

On May 10, 1,775 civilians were evacuated from the districts of Kharkiv region that are constantly under intense Russian fire.

Subsequently, the Atesh guerrilla movement reported that the Russian military refused to attack Kharkiv. The Russian occupation troops also began to apply new tactical signs to their vehicles, probably denoting a group operating in the north of Kharkiv region.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) believes that Russian offensive operations along the border in Kharkiv region are likely to have a strategic goal of drawing and consolidating Ukrainian forces on this axis to enable Russian advance into other areas of eastern Ukraine.