Ukraine halts Russia’s advance in the Sumy region, commander says

Rescue workers clear the rubble of a residential house destroyed by a Russian strike in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Monday. Picture: Evgeniy Maloletka/AP

Ukrainian forces have halted Russia’s recent advance into the northern region of Sumy and have stabilised the front line near the border with Russia, Ukraine’s top military commander said.

Col Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander in chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, said that Ukrainian successes in Sumy have prevented Russia from deploying about 50,000 Russian troops, including elite airborne and marine brigades, to other areas of the front line.