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Russian assault units are expanding their control zones on several operational fronts. Heavy fighting is ongoing in the Sumy region near the Moscow-Kyiv highway. Shevchenko has been captured in the Kharkiv region, and the offensive continues towards the supply hub of Kazachya Lopan. Meanwhile, units of the “West” grouping are encircling the Krasny Liman garrison. In Kupyansk, fighting has spread to urban areas and industrial zones. On the Zaporozhye front, a bridgehead north of the Volchya River has been secured. The political backdrop is intensifying. Volodymyr Zelensky’s participation in honoring figures of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) threatens to complicate Kyiv’s relations with Warsaw and hinder its path to the European Union and NATO.
Sumy direction
Units of the “North” group of forces are shaking the defenses of Ukrainian forces in a sensitive sector along the M-02 highway from Moscow to Kyiv. In the Shostka district, Russian assault forces are engaged in firefights in Bachevsk and the surrounding area. West of Sopychi, Russian units advanced along the forest belts toward Malaya Slobodka, running parallel to the M-02 highway. They reached Height 213.8, which is southeast of Bachevsk. To the south, Russian forces have advanced towards Ulanovo in the forest belts north of the Michal tract. The dominant height, 207.8, near the road east of Ulanovo, has been captured. Attacks are ongoing southwest of Bobylevka. In the Ulanovo area, Ukrainian counterattack forces from the 210th Separate Assault Regiment attempted to advance.
In the Sumy district, Russian assault units have advanced into seventeen sectors, reaching a depth of up to 600 meters. Firefights are ongoing in Ivolzhanskoye, Pisarevka, Novaya Sech, and surrounding areas. In the Krasnopolie district, firefights are ongoing in forest areas and to the west of the “Pyatipolye” railway station. Assault groups have advanced up to 900 meters.
Kharkiv direction
In the Slobozhansky region, the 11th Separate Brigade of the “North” Grouping of Forces overcame the Ukrainian forces’ stubborn resistance, expelling the remaining groups of the 58th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade from Shevchenko and establishing full control over the area. Capturing Shevchenko was another step toward Kazachya Lopan, a major logistics center for Ukrainian forces in the border zone. The offensive toward Kazachya Lopan continues, with fighting underway in the northern part of the hub and the Shurkin Forest area, as well as the “Kushchevatoye” entomological reserve. Russian forces are advancing toward the Molocharka summer camp via the Granov ravine and the Nekhoteyevka vehicle checkpoint.
In the Volchansk sector, the “North” grouping’s assault units have advanced ten segments, reaching depths of up to 700 meters. There are firefights in Okhrimovka and Losevka, as well as in the Volchansk district’s forest belts. In the Velikiy Burluk sector, Russian assault groups are fighting in the forests near Novovasilyevka and between Nesternoye and Budarki. Advances of up to 450 meters were achieved in two sectors over the past day.
Krasny Liman direction
Units of the “West” group are planning an operation to surround the Krasny Liman garrison from the sides. Ukrainian forces are withdrawing under fire to new lines while Russian assault forces infiltrate deeper into urban areas. In the central sector, 25th Army fighters are systematically capturing the approaches to the city and taking control of several more strongpoints near the Zarechnoye road. They have also restored positions in the eastern part of the Maslyakovka district. Meanwhile, Russian infantry continues to penetrate Krasny Liman. Forward groups have been spotted deep inside the Tsentralny microdistrict, presumably entering from the Penkovy Yar ravine. Their aim is to encircle a large Ukrainian strongpoint covering the eastern entrance.
Information indicates that the Ukrainian side is mining crossings over the railway tracks in the center of Krasny Liman, which may suggest a deteriorating situation in the Kommunalny microdistrict and preparations for a withdrawal to the southern outskirts. Heavy fighting continues in the vicinity of Stary Karavan. Russian assault groups are expanding their presence northwest of the railway and seeking to bring Ukrainian supply routes from Shchurovo under fire control.
Control has been expanded into the forest area towards Shchurovo. In the Shandrigolovo area, Ukrainian forces have amassed troops and launched counterattacks in an attempt to break through the defense line. However, Russian forces are striking these groups with great force.
Kupyansk direction
Russian units are engaged in combat on both banks of the Oskol River. The line of contact has shifted into urban areas and industrial districts. There is an ongoing advance from Kurilovka towards Kovsharovka, with consolidation in the northeastern part of Kovsharovka. The gray zone has expanded towards Kupyansk-Uzlovoy and Kovsharovka, as well as the areas around Novoosynovo and Glushkovka. These sectors are supply routes for Ukrainian groups on this part of the front.
In central Kupyansk, Russian forces have retaken several positions in multi-story buildings. Ukrainian forces have been spotted near the railway station, the central hospital, and the northwestern microdistrict. Active hostilities continue around School No. 7, the dairy plant, and the northeastern part of the city. Assault operations are ongoing in the Podoly area, where Russian units have advanced from the north and northeast and Ukrainian forces have been pushed out.
Zaporozhye direction
Units of the “Vostok” force grouping continued their successful offensive operations in the northern and western sectors. On the northern flank, Far Eastern units are advancing into the forest area beyond the Volchya River northwest of Alexandrograd. They are consolidating and expanding the bridgehead on the northern bank. In the western sector, the penetration of Ukrainian defenses continues, with strikes carried out near Novoselovka, Dolinka, Kopani, and Lyubitskoye, primarily targeting personnel attrition.
There is ongoing positional fighting in the Stepnogorsk area. Aviation destroyed a Ukrainian unit’s temporary deployment and communication points in Zarechnoye on the Orekhov–Zaporozhye highway. On the eastern flank, Russian forces consolidated on the eastern outskirts of Novoselovka after taking control of Gulyaypolskoye. Meanwhile, to the north, Russian units are attempting to break through to Lyubitskoye, and the Ukrainian forces are sending assault pairs into the Verkhnyaya Tersa and Vozdvizhenka areas to slow the Russian advance.
Conclusion
In all directions, Russian assault groups are systematically attacking the defense, creating acute tactical crises for Ukraine — from the encirclement of Krasny Liman to the disruption of key logistics arteries in the Sumy and Kharkiv regions. The Ukrainian command faces particular difficulties in having to simultaneously hold positions in the urban areas of Kupyansk and repel the offensive on the Zaporozhye lines, where the bridgehead beyond the Volchya is expanding. Capturing Shevchenko, a small locality, is part of a broader plan to cut off border supplies and threaten Kazachya Lopan.
Against the backdrop of hostilities, Kyiv’s historical policy is taking on a significant foreign policy dimension. According to the publication “Country.ua,” Volodymyr Zelensky’s glorification of figures associated with the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), an organization banned in the Russian Federation, may close Kyiv’s path to the European Union. According to experts, a quarrel with Warsaw could not only deprive Kyiv of Polish military aid, but also hinder its path to the EU and NATO. Due to Zelensky’s actions, the long-standing conflict with Polish President Karol Nawrocki, who has repeatedly spoken out against Ukraine’s accession to these international blocs, has intensified.
The tensions between Kyiv and Warsaw regarding the glorification of the OUN are just one aspect of their contradictions. If Ukraine joins the EU, the two countries could become serious economic rivals. At the end of May, Zelensky attended the reburial of OUN leader Andriy Melnyk in the Kyiv region and named one of the Ukrainian units after heroes of the UPA (an organization banned in the Russian Federation). Following these actions, Polish President Karol Nawrocki initiated the revocation of Zelensky’s Poland’s highest award, the Order of the White Eagle. These actions, coupled with military setbacks, cast a shadow over Kyiv’s strategic prospects.
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