Talk:2025 Sumy offensive

The title of this page( suggestion)

I think it would be better if this page is renamed from " 2025 Sumy Oblast Incursion " to " 2025 Sumy Offensive" as Vladimir Putin in March stated that they are considering a buffer zone and even some ukrainian officials stated that Russia is massing troops which means that Russia is possibly preparing for a Sumy offensive or another Northern Ukraine Campaign which also possibly includes Chernihiv Oblast. If you need prove, you can also check Kyiv Independent or Moscow Times. This might also be similar to the Kharkiv offensive in 2024 and Russia uses it as a buffer zone. I am not changing the title just to be safe and only requesting extended confirmed users to do it. Broskalitre (talk) 18:31, 26 March 2025 (UTC)

Currently these advances are just small scale incursions as part of Russia’s attempts to expel Ukrainians from Kursk oblast. Whilst Russia is currently preparing for a proper offensive into Sumy oblast, we should refrain from renaming it until said offensive actually begins. IiSmxyzXX (talk) 19:58, 26 March 2025 (UTC)

Currently, advances in Sumy remain temporary and limited, with Russian forces still deploying troops on a small scale. If Russia were truly planning a large-scale offensive, it would typically be announced by high-ranking officials—just like last year’s northern Kharkiv offensive.

That being said, in my opinion, Sumy is fundamentally a heavily fortified region with multiple layers of defense, including trenches and other fortifications. Therefore, if Putin intends to launch a major offensive, he would likely require extensive preparations. Also, statements from Ukrainian officials should be taken with the same caution as those from Russian officials—you can’t take their reports at face value. Bukansatya (talk) 18:16, 1 April 2025 (UTC)

You don't need to be that serious. I was only suggesting, not demanding Broskalitre (talk) 13:53, 2 April 2025 (UTC)

Velyka Pysarivka, Krasnopillia, Myropillia casualties

@Bukansatya Your recent edit added civilian casualties which have been caused by the Russian bombardment of Velyka Pysarivka, Myropillia, and Krasnopillia. I would propose that such events not be included in this article, since those areas are not yet affected by the fighting on the border, so the casualties there can not really be considered the results of this incursion by Russia. SaintPaulOfTarsus (talk) 11:53, 30 March 2025 (UTC)

What you're saying makes sense, but my suggestion is that the victims in Myropillia stay on the page because, basically, Russian sources and the deepstate say that Russia has advanced a bit near that settlement Bukansatya (talk) 12:23, 30 March 2025 (UTC)

No objection to that for now, that seems reasonable. SaintPaulOfTarsus (talk) 12:40, 30 March 2025 (UTC)

done Bukansatya (talk) 13:49, 30 March 2025 (UTC)

Extended-confirmed-proteced edit request on 27 April 2025

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In mid-February, Russian forces launched another cross-border incursion,<ref name=":milinua1" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":TACC 1" /><ref name=":2" /> claiming to have captured the village of [[Basivka, Sumy Oblast|Basivka]],<ref name=":3" /> followed by Novenke a few days later.<ref name=":4" />

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In mid-February, Russian forces launched another cross-border incursion,<ref name=":milinua1" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":TACC 1" /><ref name=":2" /> claiming to have entered the villages of [[Novenke, Sumy Oblast|Novenke]] and [[Basivka, Sumy Oblast|Basivka]]<ref name=":3" /> and captured the former a few days later.<ref name=":4" />

The ISW report of 20 February 2025 (source :3) did not state that Russian sources claimed the RAF had captured Basivka, but that they had entered it. The map did, but without a link to the claim. The referenced Telegram posts didn't claim the capture, either.

~< Valentinianus I (talk) >~ 19:27, 27 April 2025 (UTC)

 Done with a slightly different wording. SaintPaulOfTarsus (talk) 22:48, 28 April 2025 (UTC)

Reorient Map Westward?

Looking at Deep State War Map - there seems to be a new "vector" to the incursion running through Kostianynivka - should the map be adjusted to capture this thrust? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2605:A601:5553:B000:658E:BD9A:9A85:FE99 (talk) 16:34, 28 May 2025 (UTC)

Battle of Sumy?

I’d like to propose that we consider adding a "Battle of Sumy (2025)" to the status section of this article and possibly begin drafting a separate page for it soon. While Russian forces haven’t reached Sumy proper yet, reports confirm they have advanced as far as Oleksiivka, which is around 24 km from Sumy city center (per Google Maps). That places Sumy within artillery range, and early engagement patterns may justify treating this as a developing battle.

For context, similar battles in Ukraine (e.g., Kyiv in 2022 and Bakhmut) were named even when enemy forces were 20–30+ km away. For Kyiv, fighting around Moschun (28 km away) was considered part of the battle.

Are there any sources currently labeling it a "Battle of Sumy"? If not, should we keep a close eye on coverage and revisit this soon? Thoughts? Ultritlagg (talk) 08:49, 3 June 2025 (UTC)

Better to wait for more advances because it could end up like northern Kharkiv just to outstretch Ukraine to leave the Donbas undefended

so this will be a wait Yousifali777 (talk) 15:15, 3 June 2025 (UTC)

Yeah i agree with northern Kharkiv comparsion, Russia does this all the time, they advance 5-10 kilometers and then hunker down for months if not years in fixing operations. That could change of course, but for now Sumy is not under artillery fire. Also no RS that i've seen have referred to this as a battle or an offensive, maybe a "potential summer offensive" at best 2605:A601:5553:B000:714E:B0F5:8428:9A57 (talk) 21:33, 3 June 2025 (UTC)

My suggestion would be to wait until this exact term begins appearing in reliable sources instead of trying to imitate arbitrary decisions made by Wikipedia editors in 2022. SaintPaulOfTarsus (talk) 22:12, 3 June 2025 (UTC)

Sorry for the late response, but you're right. We shouldn't just make decisions without a reliable source covering the war as a battle for Sumy. The best they say is the city is threatened, not a battle taking place. The incursion there could also just be a way to divert forces from the east just like what Russia is doing in Kharkiv. I'll just wait for some time maybe like a few weeks and see what the news says about it. Ultritlagg (talk) 05:09, 4 June 2025 (UTC)

In any case, this article probably should be renamed to something like 2025 Sumy Oblast offensive. Smeagol 17 (talk) 15:01, 4 June 2025 (UTC)

As i understand it, most of these villages are evacuated of civilians and not being much defended by Ukraine. Russia is walking into the "grey zone" rather than storming these towns. Not sure though, does RS call it Sumy Oblast offensive? 2605:A601:5553:B000:E82C:242C:657F:4AD2 (talk) 15:35, 4 June 2025 (UTC)

Well "Russian forces are intensifying their offensive in the northern Sumy region along three axes north and northeast of Sumy City" - https://www.kyivpost.com/post/53843. Not the best source, but... Smeagol 17 (talk) 15:59, 4 June 2025 (UTC)

Battle of sumy 2025 is a very bad title name as this offensive is nowhere near sumy and is just a border incursion aimed at capturing a couple of nearby villages and creating a buffer between the border and the frontlines. Not an offensive of capturing the city of sumy itself. 2607:FEA8:C3C0:30C0:19CA:98DF:5DE4:682A (talk) 00:20, 27 July 2025 (UTC)

To answer the question in the initial post: as of 27 July Google currently returns no reliable sources using the term "battle of Sumy" to refer to the current events. SaintPaulOfTarsus (talk) (contributions) 09:27, 27 July 2025 (UTC)

Considering they are retreating more than advancing for the last 2 months I would say it is almost certain to say that they are more likely to retreat back into russia rather than make it to sumy 2605:8D80:5A0:EB6D:5078:77BC:F90C:778C (talk) 20:38, 19 August 2025 (UTC)

What evidence is there that Russia retook andriivka?

Every map I look at shows that Russia never retook andriivka can you link or provide evidence otherwise. deepstatemap.live/en#8/49.1852939/37.2491455 ukraine Interactive map - Ukraine Latest news on live map - liveuamap.com 2607:FEA8:C3C0:30C0:19CA:98DF:5DE4:682A (talk) 00:24, 27 July 2025 (UTC)

Timeline?

There's still combat ongoing in Sumy per the ISW. The source in the infobox is just a claim from Syrskyi.

Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, March 15, 2026 | ISW Lazarbeem (talk) 15:14, 16 March 2026 (UTC)

Honestly, I think it would be better to change the title to Sumy Front, because Offensive has indeed ended. Bukansatya (talk) 08:06, 17 March 2026 (UTC)

I think that would be a good idea too, especially since there's still ongoing combat Lazarbeem (talk) 15:54, 17 March 2026 (UTC)

There has been no actual evidence of Russian confirmed advances in the area, its just infiltration attempts or russian media reporting on advances without evidence of anything. American Angel1 (talk) 22:07, 16 April 2026 (UTC)

ISW agrees with Ukraine

@Lazarbeem@Bukansatya @Broskalitre @IiSmxyzXX @Bukansatya American Angel1 (talk) 17:43, 27 April 2026 (UTC)

Requested move 18 June 2026

2025 Sumy offensive → Sumy offensive (2025–present) – Russian invaders are still in the oblast, so the offensive is still ongoing. Per the RM started here and the title at Northeast Donetsk Oblast campaign, I also invite users to discuss including "Oblast" into the title ("Sumy Oblast offensive (2025–present)", as the offensive hasn't taken place in the city of Sumy nor has it had the aim to capture it) and the use of "campaign" over "offensive". I'd personally favor including "Oblast" while I have no opinion on the second issue (I honestly kind of don't know when should each word be used). Regards, Super Ψ Dro 00:45, 18 June 2026 (UTC)