**Russia Claims to Have Stopped Ukrainian Ground Assault**
The Russian Defense Ministry said on March 18 that it had stopped a significant Ukrainian ground assault from entering Russia’s Belgorod Oblast. However, Ukraine quickly denied the claim as propaganda.
**Location of Alleged Attack**
The alleged thwarted operation was supposed to take place in settlements only a few dozen kilometers southeast of Sudzha, where Ukraine has almost fully retreated from land it captured last August in the adjacent Kursk Oblast.
**No Independent Verification**
The Kyiv Independent could not independently verify either party’s claim. Here is what we know about the situation.
**Zelensky on Ukrainian Operations**
When asked directly about Russia’s claims, President Volodymyr Zelensky neither confirmed nor denied Ukrainian operations in Belgorod Oblast. He said Ukraine is fulfilling its mission in the Kursk region and that they will not let Russia strike Sumy, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.
**Tensions Escalate at the Sumy Border**
The claims added to mounting tensions in Ukraine’s Sumy Oblast, which borders Russia’s Belgorod, Kursk, and Bryansk oblasts. President Zelensky said Russia is amassing forces at the Sumy border to prepare for a new attack.
**Evacuations Expanded**
In response to the escalating situation, Sumy Oblast’s Defense Council expanded mandatory evacuations last week to include eight settlements in Sumy covering over 500 people.
**Russia’s Governor on the Situation**
The governor of Belgorod Oblast acknowledged that the situation in his region is “complex.” He said villages in the Krasnaya Yaruga district had come under heavy shelling and drone strikes. However, he did not include claims of an attempt at a cross-border incursion.
**What We Know So Far**
* Russia claims to have stopped a significant Ukrainian ground assault from entering Belgorod Oblast.
* Ukraine denies the claim as propaganda.
* The situation at the Sumy border is escalating, with President Zelensky saying Russia is amassing forces to prepare for a new attack.
* Mandatory evacuations have been expanded in Sumy Oblast.
* Russia’s governor acknowledges that the situation in Belgorod Oblast is complex.