Zelensky says 50,000 Russian soldiers at the border near Sumy

Russia has amassed approximately 50,000 soldiers for a potential advance into Ukraine's north-eastern Sumy region, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in remarks published on Wednesday by state news agency Ukrinform.

The Ukrainian army was attempting to avert an attack through its actions in the neighbouring Russian region of Kursk, Zelensky added in a press conference on Tuesday. The remarks were only released by Ukrainian media on Wednesday, as he was en route to Berlin.

The aim of a Russian advance on Sumy could be to establish a buffer zone on the Ukrainian side, Zelensky speculated. However, he said Russia would miss these soldiers in other parts of the front, such as near Pokrovsk in the Donbass region.

To date, the Kremlin has not laid any claims to Sumy, unlike other occupied Ukrainian territories.

Recently, however, President Vladimir Putin spoke in jest about the occupation of Sumy, during a meeting with regional and local officials in Kursk.