Russia announced today that it has captured another village in Sumy region, TASS reported, quoted by BTA.
According to a statement from the Russian Defense Ministry, the village of Alekseyevka in Sumy region, in northeastern Ukraine, has been "liberated" by Russian armed forces.
This information has not been independently confirmed and there has been no official reaction from Ukrainian authorities so far.
In recent days, Moscow has reported a series of captured villages near the border. In response to the growing threat, Ukrainian authorities have ordered the mandatory evacuation of residents of 11 border villages.
Kiev is concerned that Russia is preparing a wider offensive in Sumy region, according to Agence France-Presse. Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he had ordered the creation of a buffer zone along the Russian-Ukrainian border.
The Sumy region borders Russia's Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces launched a surprise attack last August. Russia says it has completely pushed the Ukrainian army out of the area, a claim Kiev denies.