Russia captures Ukrainian villages amid drone attack slowdown

Kyiv: Russian forces have taken control of four border villages in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region, a Ukrainian regional official confirmed on Tuesday, just days after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced an order to establish a security buffer zone along the border.

Oleh Hryhorov, head of the Sumy regional military administration, said that Russian troops were attempting to advance further into the region following the capture. He noted that local civilians had been evacuated earlier, and there was no immediate danger to residents in the affected areas.

This territorial gain comes amid a shift in Russia’s aerial tactics. After a period of intensified drone strikes across Ukraine, the bombardment has slowed. Between Friday and Sunday, Russian forces launched approximately 900 drones, including a record 355 drones in a single night—Sunday’s largest drone assault since the start of the full-scale invasion over three years ago. However, from Monday night into Tuesday, only 60 drones were fired at Ukrainian targets, according to Ukraine’s air force.

Conversely, Russia’s Defence Ministry claimed its air defences shot down 99 Ukrainian drones overnight across seven Russian regions.

President Putin recently visited the neighbouring Kursk region, his first visit since Moscow claimed it had pushed Ukrainian forces out of the area last month. Ukrainian authorities, however, denied these claims, citing that they had previously seized land in Kursk in August last year.

Putin reiterated concerns over the vulnerability of Russia’s border regions, stating the need for a “security buffer zone” to prevent future Ukrainian incursions. He did not specify the extent or exact location of this proposed zone. A similar buffer zone strategy had previously been mentioned during a Russian offensive in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, aimed at protecting Russia’s Belgorod region from repeated Ukrainian strikes.

While ceasefire talks between Russia and Ukraine resumed in Turkey earlier this month for the first time in three years, no substantial progress has been made aside from a major prisoner exchange.

The war, now in its third year, continues despite international diplomatic efforts—primarily led by the United States—to broker peace.