Shifts in Sumy possible if Russia mobilizes tens of thousands of soldiers — expert Selezniov

This was stated by military expert and former spokesperson for the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Vladyslav Selezniov, during an interview on Espreso.

“The enemy is acting similarly to how they did in May last year in northern Kharkiv. The direction towards Vovchansk, towards Lyptsy. The enemy made significant advances of up to 10 km, but then the offensive stopped because the enemy ran into our engineering structures and fortifications,” he said.

Selezniov added that this time, in the Sumy region, the situation was similar.

“I hear a lot of complaints about former local governor General Artyukh, saying he didn’t effectively implement his duties in terms of building engineering fortifications. Although it seems that if he hadn’t worked effectively, these fortifications wouldn’t have been built, and we wouldn’t have seen the stabilization of the situation on the battlefield, particularly in Sumy region. Last week, we lost 91 km² during the enemy army’s offensive actions. Not a single square kilometer was lost in Sumy region. This means that not only our forces and resources but also fortifications are working,” the expert noted.

He added that the Russian army in this sector of the front cannot radically change the situation without additional forces and resources.

“Right now, the enemy is urgently looking for additional resources – they are taking them from the Kupiansk direction, from the direction of Vovchansk, towards Lyptsy. In Sumy, they are compensating for losses in their forward assault units, and these are significant, as the enemy, following their old traditions, fights with numbers, regardless of the losses among their personnel. On the other hand, they are trying to create a multiple advantage on the battlefield to change the situation. Just today, I saw a figure of 50,000 Russian troops, which is three times more than the number of Ukrainian Defense Forces in the Sumy region,” Selezniov emphasized.

The expert believes that such a balance of forces and resources, considering we are protected by engineering structures and are on the defensive, is an acceptable ratio.

“And I think that in the near future, we are unlikely to see any significant shifts. Could they happen? Yes, if the enemy finds tens of thousands of additional personnel. Is it realistic? I think if they had such an opportunity, they would have done it. If they don’t have it, can’t do it, then the enemy should not hope that they will be able to radically change the situation on this front in the near future,” he concluded.

• According to WSJ, Russia has deployed 50,000 soldiers to Sumy region, three times more than the number of Ukrainian troops in this sector.