Elite Ukrainian intel units help defend Ukraine's Sumy region from Russian forces – WSJ
Illustrative photo: Ukrainian soldiers defend Sumy region (Getty Images)
Ukrainian soldiers from Ukraine's Defense Intelligence (HUR) are actively involved in defending the Sumy region from the Russian army. The Russian offensive has been successfully halted, The Wall Street Journal.
How HUR defends the Sumy region
According to the WSJ, elite HUR units were deployed to the Sumy region to stabilize the situation. Since then, Russian advances in the area have been stopped, and Ukraine has managed to liberate parts of the territory.
The commander of the Khymera unit, call sign Kappa, explained that holding back the Russian forces is a difficult task due to the enemy’s numerical superiority along almost the entire frontline.
He added that their numbers were a big problem, although not enough to defeat Ukrainian forces. The enemy was losing between 300 and 400 personnel daily across the region, but they could cope with such losses and continued to bring in reinforcements.
Assault on the village
According to the outlet, about 10 members of the special unit Tymur carried out an assault operation last month to liberate a village located north of Sumy. On the way to the village, the defenders encountered a group of Russian assault troops. The HUR fighters found themselves trapped in a trench, as the Russians significantly outnumbered them. The battle lasted about seven hours.
Mark, a 25-year-old platoon commander, described the fight as the toughest he had ever participated in. He explained that the enemy attacked with infantry, drones, grenade launchers, machine guns, artillery, and cluster munitions. The defenders never had more than five minutes of respite before the enemy regrouped.
During the battle, the Ukrainian defenders managed to kill five Russian soldiers. The Russian troops retreated several times but continued attempts to encircle the Ukrainian defenders after short pauses.
The Wall Street Journal reviewed footage from the fighters' cameras, which showed almost continuous fire. Eventually, all Tymur fighters were able to return, although three were wounded by gunfire.
The commander of the HUR special unit Tymur told the WSJ that the situation in the Sumy region was no longer only about defense.
He stated that now they were looking for ways to conduct their offensives and push the enemy back.
Fighting in the Sumy region
As a reminder, Russia is trying to create a so-called buffer zone in the Sumy region. But so far, the enemy has had no success.
As President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, noted today, the Russian forces are failing to implement their plans for an offensive in the Sumy region.
