Russian forces have taken control of areas near Ukraine’s northeastern border. Ukrainian officials announced that Russian troops have seized control of four villages in the Sumy region, located in northeastern Ukraine near the border with Russia’s Kursk province.
Last year, Ukrainian forces had temporarily captured parts of the Kursk region and used Sumy as an operational base. However, Russian troops eventually pushed them back.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for the establishment of a “buffer zone” in the border areas.
Meanwhile, following a recent wave of airstrikes—including a large-scale and deadly drone and missile attack on Sunday—Russian bombardments decreased in intensity overnight.
According to Ukrainian authorities, at least 12 people were killed in these attacks, which they described as the largest aerial assault since the beginning of the Russian invasion in February 2022.
In response to the attacks, U.S. President Donald Trump wrote on the social media platform “Truth Social” that Putin has “gone completely mad” and is “taking many lives without reason.”
Trump also told reporters that new sanctions against Russia are currently under consideration.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded to Trump’s remarks on Monday, saying: “This is a sensitive moment marked by intense emotional pressure on everyone, leading to emotional reactions.”
On May 16, Russia and Ukraine held their first direct peace talks in three years, hosted in Turkey. During the meeting, both sides agreed to exchange hundreds of prisoners—a process that began on Friday.
Last week, Trump held separate phone calls with both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, afterward announcing that ceasefire negotiations between the two nations would begin soon, though no specific date has yet been set.