Russian sabotage units seek to shift fighting from Kursk to Ukraine - Border Guard

Andriy Demchenko, spokesperson for Ukraine's State Border Guard Service, stated this during a TV broadcast, as reported by Ukrinform.

"Previously, most Russian diversion and reconnaissance groups were detected in the northern part of the Sumy region, but now, in some cases, we are recording their attempts to move closer to the southern and southeastern sections of the Sumy region," said Demchenko.

According to him, this is how Russian forces are trying to shift combat operations from the Kursk region to Ukrainian territory.

According to the State Border Guard Service, Russia has accumulated enough forces to push Ukraine's Defense Forces out of the Kursk region, where Ukrainian units were conducting their operation.

"Our task is primarily to hold our defense to prevent Russia's advance, as we see it now in the direction of the settlements of Novenke and Zhuravka," emphasized Demchenko.

He explained that Russian troops are using the tactic of small assault groups, which try to cross the border as quickly as possible and accumulate.

"The Russians are trying to expand the battlefield across Ukrainian territory by using small assault groups of up to five people. Sometimes, these assault actions are carried out on ATVs to cross the border as quickly as possible and penetrate deeper into Ukrainian territory, expecting further accumulation, so that the battlefield continues on Ukrainian soil," added the spokesperson of the State Border Guard Service.

At the same time, he assured that all Russian reconnaissance and sabotage groups are effectively eliminated by the Ukrainian Defense Forces as soon as they cross the border or even at the approaches. To achieve this, the Border Guard Service and Ukrainian Armed Forces units on this front, utilizing artillery and drones, target and destroy these groups to prevent the Russians from regrouping and expanding the area of active fighting on Ukrainian territory.

The spokesperson of the State Border Guard Service also noted that since the beginning of 2025, Russian forces have been most actively using their reconnaissance and sabotage groups in the Sumy region, where the border stretches for more than 530 km.