Russia claims capture of Sumy Oblast border village, Ukraine calls it ‘disinformation campaign’

Russia claimed on March 6 that its forces had seized the village of Basivka in Sumy Oblast, but Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service denied the report, describing it as part of a “disinformation campaign.”

The Russian Defense Ministry said units from its “Sever” (North) military grouping captured the settlement, located roughly 29 kilometers northeast of Sumy city and near the Russian border.

Russia’s state-run news agency TASS reported the seizure could disrupt supply lines to Ukrainian forces still operating in Russia’s Kursk Oblast.

Ukrainian officials rejected the claim. “Russia continues its disinformation campaign regarding the seizure of settlements in Sumy Oblast or the breakthrough of the border,” border guard spokesperson Andrii Demchenko told Ukrainian Pravda.

Demchenko confirmed ongoing Russian attempts to send small assault groups across the border in the Novenke-Basivka direction, but said these groups are being “destroyed to the maximum extent possible” by Ukraine’s Defense Forces.

Basivka remains marked as a “gray zone” on the DeepState monitoring map, indicating contested or unclear control.

President Volodymyr Zelensky warned in a March 26 interview with Le Figaro that Russia is preparing a new offensive in Sumy and Kharkiv oblasts this spring. Both border regions have been critical to Ukraine’s defense since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022.

While Russian advances have largely stalled in Donetsk Oblast, particularly around Pokrovsk, Ukraine has lost ground in Russia’s Kursk Oblast.  

According to DeepState, Ukraine’s controlled area shrank from 407 square kilometers in early March to just 70 square kilometers by month’s end.

Ukraine initially seized 1,300 square kilometers before Russian forces — reinforced by North Korean units — launched a counteroffensive.

As Russia refuses to accept ceasefire, will Trump pressure Moscow?

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Three weeks ago, Ukraine and the U.S. agreed to implement a full 30-day ceasefire. Russia declined to do so, issuing a list of demands instead. On April 4, Russia hit a residential neighborhood in the city of Kryvyi Rih with ballistic missiles and drones, killing 19 people, including nine