Syrsky: Russiaʼs new offensive on Kharkiv and Sumy regions has already begun

A new Russian offensive on the Kharkiv and Sumy regions has effectively begun. Over the past week, the Russians have almost doubled their offensives on all major fronts.

This was stated by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrsky, in an interview with LB.ua.

Despite the negotiations, which are being held under the mediation of the USA, Russia is increasing the intensity of the offensive. In general, the situation remains unchanged — the Russian Federation does not rule out the intention to completely seize the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as well as parts of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. The Russians are trying to create a buffer zone in the territories of the Kharkiv, Sumy and Chernihiv regions.

In the fall of 2025, Belarus will host large-scale joint exercises with the Russian Armed Forces, Zapad-2025. In this context, Syrsky recalled that this was the beginning of Russiaʼs full-scale aggression in 2022 — military exercises make it possible to disguise the creation of groups.

“Actually, that’s how 2022 began. You remember that initially a group was created, it conducted exercises, and we all hoped that they would end and the Russian troops would return to their territory,” says Syrsky.

At the same time, the commander-in-chief notes that this is a factor that must be taken into account. But this does not mean that he expects the fall Belarusian-Russian exercises to be a repeat of 2022.

• On the evening of March 19, at a briefing, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russia plans to completely displace Ukrainian troops from the Kursk direction, and then strike in the direction of Sumy and move troops to Kharkiv, as well as to Zaporizhzhia.
• Already on March 27, Zelensky said that Russia was preparing for a spring offensive on the Sumy and Kharkiv regions. It was supposed to take place a few months ago, but Ukraine thwarted it thanks to the Kursk operation.

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