Ukrainian forces halt Russian advance in Sumy as prisoner swaps continue

KYIV — Ukrainian forces have successfully halted a Russian advance in the northeastern Sumy region and are now engaged in fierce battles along the border, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday, as the war between the two countries enters its fourth year.

In remarks published by his office, Zelenskiy stated that Russia had deployed approximately 53,000 troops towards the Sumy region, located along Ukraine’s northeastern frontier. “We are levelling the position. The fighting there is along the border,” Zelenskiy said, adding that Ukrainian forces had stopped the Russian incursion at a maximum penetration of 7 kilometres.

Reuters has not independently verified the battlefield accounts.

Russian forces have predominantly focused their offensive operations in the Donetsk region, but recent weeks have seen intensified pressure on northeastern fronts, particularly in Kharkiv and Sumy. Moscow has declared intentions to establish a so-called "buffer zone" in these areas to ward off Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory.

Zelenskiy rejected recent Russian claims that its troops had entered Dnipropetrovsk, a central Ukrainian region that borders three partially occupied territories — Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia. He said Russia had only dispatched small assault units attempting to create propaganda images, all of which were repelled by Ukrainian defenders.

War Intensifies Amid Drone Strikes and Retaliation

The war has seen renewed escalation in recent weeks following a daring Ukrainian drone operation that destroyed multiple aircraft deep inside Russian territory and damaged the critical bridge linking Russia to the annexed Crimean Peninsula. In response, Moscow has significantly ramped up its aerial assaults on Ukrainian cities.

President Zelenskiy emphasized that Ukrainian troops continue to maintain defensive lines along over 1,000 kilometres of the active frontline, though he acknowledged the growing toll of prolonged warfare and admitted that full territorial recovery by force is unlikely. He reiterated calls for tougher international sanctions on Moscow, aiming to compel it into meaningful negotiations.

Prisoner Swaps and Fallen Soldiers

Despite stalled peace talks, both countries have continued prisoner exchanges. On Saturday, Kyiv and Moscow carried out another swap — the fourth in a week — with several Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) returning home. “We continue to take our people out of Russian captivity,” Zelenskiy announced on Telegram.

A still image from a video released by the Russian Defence Ministry shows what it said to be Russian service personnel captured by Ukrainian forces and released during the latest exchange of prisoners of war in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict, as they react in a bus

Most of the returned Ukrainian soldiers were reportedly captured during the 2022 defence of Mariupol and have been held for nearly three years.

In a separate development, Ukrainian officials confirmed that Russia handed over the bodies of 1,200 deceased Ukrainian soldiers on Friday — one of the largest such repatriations to date. These transfers, officials said, were part of limited agreements reached during recent talks in Istanbul.

However, Russian state media, citing unnamed sources, claimed that Moscow had not received any of its war dead from Kyiv, echoing earlier statements by the Russian defence ministry.

Russia did not specify the number of POWs returned by Ukraine but released video footage of uniformed soldiers cheering and waving national flags before boarding buses. The soldiers are now receiving medical care in Belarus before their transfer back to Russian territory, according to Russian officials.

Ongoing Negotiations and International Response

Peace talks held earlier this month in Istanbul yielded only minimal results, with prisoner exchanges being the main outcome. No breakthrough on a ceasefire or broader political settlement has emerged.

Zelenskiy said further exchanges are scheduled to continue through June 20 or 21, but signalled that broader negotiations remain elusive without stronger international pressure on Moscow.

Russia currently occupies roughly one-fifth of Ukraine’s territory. Despite growing battlefield challenges, both sides show no signs of backing down, raising the spectre of further protracted conflict across multiple fronts.