Chechen leader Kadyrov announces capture of Ryzhivka, Sumy region: local authorities deny

Kadyrov wrote about this in his Telegram channel.

According to him, Russian troops allegedly “conducted tactical operations and liberated another settlement from the enemy.”

“As a result of large-scale planned offensives, the Ukrainian side suffered significant losses and was forced to retreat,” the fake story says.

Later, the head of the Bilopil community told Suspilne that there are no Russian troops in Ryzhivka, Sumy region.

The head of the Center for Countering Disinformation of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Andriy Kovalenko, also denied Kadyrov's statement and emphasized that no active operations are currently underway in the Sumy region.

“As of now, this is not the beginning of what happened in the Kharkiv region. The Russians tried to test the defense in the direction of Ryzhivka, which is a satellite of the Russian Tiotkino. There are no active actions in the border area at the moment. Defense forces are controlling the situation, the enemy has been hit by fire,” noted Kovalenko.

He emphasized that Kadyrov's mercenaries are an information army, and Russia is focusing on the information component.

“We should not compare the situation with the Kharkiv region as of 8:00 a.m. Is there still a threat of Russian actions in the border area - yes,” noted the head of the National Security and Defense Council's Central Intelligence Center.

Also, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, having listened to a report on the situation at the front by the Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi, assured that the Ukrainian forces were in full control of the situation in the Sumy region.

According to him, Russian subversive groups are active in the region, but the Ukrainian Defense Forces are destroying them and will continue to do so.

The President also commented on the situation near the village of Ryzhivka, where Russian troops attempted to implement a propaganda operation.

“As of this morning, the Russian flag in the village has been destroyed, and there is no occupant presence,” Zelenskyy emphasized.

• On May 13, the head of Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate, Kyrylo Budanov, said he expects a new Russian offensive in the Sumy region.
• On May 21, the spokesman for the State Border Guard Service, Andriy Demchenko, said that an offensive by Russian troops in the Sumy region cannot be ruled out and could happen “at any time.”
• On May 23, Andriy Demchenko reported that border guards in the Sumy region recorded high activity of Russian sabotage and reconnaissance groups.
• On May 24, the Ukrainian Armed Forces General Staff noted that the Russian troops were building up a group of troops near the Chernihiv and Sumy regions.