On the territory of Russia, opposite the Sumy region, the occupiers have accumulated about 60,000 troops. This was reported by President Volodymyr Zelensky during a briefing.
"Opposite the Sumy direction, you know there is a large accumulation. There are more than 60,000 Russians there," Zelensky said.
According to the president, Ukraine is not allowing the Russians to concentrate enough troops opposite Chernihiv, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhia for a full-scale offensive. Therefore, the occupiers are acting in "waves."
Commenting on Russia's strategic plans for the spring and summer, the head of state explained that in order to gain a strong position in negotiations, the Russians want to achieve successes on the front lines, especially in the partially occupied regions of Ukraine.
"To have such pressure, they need to capture more territories, more square kilometers of land in order to pressure Ukraine," Zelensky emphasized.
He added that to achieve these goals, the occupiers need to act in other directions as well, to later demonstrate to the international community that Russia is supposedly a country of compromises.
"For this, they want to use successes in other territories. And here we are talking about areas like Sumy, where there is a large accumulation of troops. And they are also shelling Chernihiv not by chance," the president said.
