Terror and Scorched Earth Tactics. Is Russia Preparing to Take Over the Sumy Region?

 

 

In March 2024, the Russian military began destroying the Sumy region. Every day, the region was bombed with rockets, artillery, and air bombs. During the night and morning of March 20th, Russian armed forces shelled border areas of the region 16 times, reported the Sumy Regional Military Administration (OVA) about 65 explosions. The regional police reported 136 Russian attacks throughout the region during the past day.

 

From March 11th to 17th, the Sumy region experienced the most difficult times since April 2022, when the occupiers left the region, emphasized Dmitry Lantushenko, the chief of public relations of the 117th Special Ground Defense Brigade. "The number of strikes, air raids, and shelling has increased several times," Lantushenko emphasized.

 

Volodymyr Artiukh, the head of the regional military administration of Sumy, said on March 19th that 40 to 50 percent of the housing stock had been destroyed in settlements bordering Russia. The most powerful strikes are delivered by aviation with anti-aircraft missiles - 111 such attacks were recorded in the second week of March. Residents of the region hear up to 40 air raid sirens daily, and during March 12th and 13th, the Russian army carried out 800 shelling attacks on the region, fulfilling the shelling quota for the first six months of 2023.

 

Guided aerial bombs (GAB) fly to the border village of Velika Pisarivka almost every day. On the morning of March 17th, the center of this village was destroyed, and people were called to evacuate urgently. The next day, it was learned that all children had been evacuated from the village.

 

Scorched Earth. Putin Creates a "Sanitary Zone" in the Sumy Region

 

 

The intensification of hostilities in the Sumy region is happening against the backdrop of raids by volunteers from the "Freedom of Russia" legion, the Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC), and the Siberian Battalion in the Belgorod and Kursk regions of Russia. Ukrainian territorial defense forces link the increased shelling of the Sumy region to attacks by volunteers in the Russian Federation.

 

After "winning" the presidential elections, Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened to create a "sanitary zone" in Ukraine to push back Ukrainian Armed Forces units. The distance must be greater than the range of Western weapons.

Colonel Reserve, former Chief of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Vladislav Selezniov, believes that the occupiers have already begun scorched earth tactics in the Sumy region, creating a "sanitary zone." The Russian army is forcing civilians to evacuate, withdrawing all military units and formations from border areas.

 

"The active use of anti-aircraft guns and artillery destroys everything alive, indicating the implementation of the occupiers' criminal plan," commented an expert for Focus.

A buffer zone is being created between Ukraine and the Russian Federation - a distance that prevents the Armed Forces from targeting areas in Kursk, Bryansk, and Belgorod regions. Selezniov emphasizes that the intensification of strikes in the Sumy region is just the beginning of creating a "sanitary zone." Severe destruction prevents the Ukrainian army from being present in the region, as there is simply nowhere to hide and establish engineering fortifications.

 

 

"The explosion following the release of a 1.5-ton KAB will destroy all shelters on the ground. A similar scenario is possible in the Kharkiv region and all regions bordering Russia," warned the analyst.

 

"How much force is needed to capture the Sumy region?

 

Russian occupiers are not preparing at all for a penetration into the Sumy region, its encirclement, and capture. Classic terror is now being carried out against the civilian population in the border belt," says Oleksandr Kovalenko, coordinator of the "Informative Resistance" group and military expert.

 

"In the Kursk, Bryansk, and Belgorod regions, three troop groups are concentrated: 'Kursk,' 'Bryansk,' and 'Belgorod.' The latter is the largest and best-equipped, with 17,500 personnel, just over 100 tanks, 350 armored vehicles, over 450 artillery pieces, and around 50 MLRS.

"The other two groups, 'Kursk' and 'Bryansk,' have slightly weaker combat capabilities. Each of them comprises 16,500 soldiers, about 80 tanks, 220 armored vehicles, 330 artillery pieces, and around 20 self-propelled guns. All three groups are stretched along the border, not grouped for rapid breakthrough," emphasized Kovalenko.

 

"The 'Belgorod' group is currently dealing with some issues related to the return of the repatriated group to their homeland. It should not be considered as the main force directed towards Sumy. There should be up to 300,000 forces concentrated to encircle the city or engage in urban battles, plus reserves," noted the expert.

 

Let us remind that the Armed Forces of Ukraine are busy strengthening the first and second lines of defense in the Sumy region. This is being done to prevent subversive and intelligence groups from Russia from penetrating the region.

Focus has reported on a missile attack on radio technical facilities in the border zone of the Sumy region. Television and radio communication have actually ceased, and there have been interruptions in mobile communication.