All Ukrainian forces deployed near Ivolzhanskoye in Sumy Region destroyed — defense source

MOSCOW, July 7. /TASS/. All Ukrainian army groups positioned near Ivolzhanskoye in the Sumy Region have been destroyed and Russian troops are clearing forest belts that stretch toward the regional center of Sumy, a source in Russian defense circles told TASS.

As the Russian Defense Ministry reported on June 24, its Battlegroup North took control of the settlement of Ivolzhanskoye in the Sumy Region, forcing out the last groups of Ukrainian nationalists from the 71st separate airmobile brigade. Ivolzhanskoye is located about 11 km from the northern outskirts of Sumy.

"The enemy carried out an information campaign, provoking the publication of footage from our positions in that community. The goal of these enemy actions was to uncover the position of our forward groups and send units located nearby for an attack on that settlement. Today Battlegroup North fighters are clearing forest belts that extend virtually to the regional center. All the groups of Ukrainian nationalists located near Ivolzhanskoye have been eliminated," the defense source said.

TASS has also obtained a video showing Russian servicemen holding up a Russian national flag in their hands in Ivolzhanskoye.

Earlier, Battlegroup North Commander Yevgeny Nikiforov reported to Russian President Vladimir Putin that the Battlegroup’s forward teams were just 10 km away from Sumy.