Russia inches deeper into Ukraine amid fears of renewed Moscow offensive

Russia advanced deeper into Ukrainian territory on Saturday, taking control of two more villages in Sumy and killing two people in a missile and drone barrage. 

As a result, Kyiv has issued evacuation orders for 11 villages in Northern Sumy, adding to the list of more than 200 settlements in the region that were already issued orders to do so.

This comes amid Ukraine recently expressing willingness to retry direct peace talks with Russia at Istanbul on Monday.

“Ukraine is ready to attend the next meeting, but we want to engage in a constructive discussion,” explained Andriy Yermak, in an online statement from Ukraine’s Presidential Office on Thursday night (local time).

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has pointed out that about 50,000 Russian troops were gathered on the border near the Sumy region, which he stated was a sign that Moscow could be preparing a renewed offensive, as per a Guardian report.

The Russian defence ministry claimed on Saturday that Moscow's 'East' military group had taken control of the village of Novopil in the Eastern part of Donetsk, whereas its 'North' group captured Vodolahy in the Northeastern region of of Sumy. 

The Russian military also launched 109 drones and five missiles at Ukraine late Friday night, all the way through to the early hours of Saturday. However, the Ukraine Air Force intercepted most of these attacks, as it remains on high alert anticipating a renewed Moscow offensive.

Still, the onslaught killed two minors and an adult, damaging several houses, cars and outbuildings, explained Ivan Fedorov, the governor of Zaporizhzhia, in a Telegram update. In response, Kyiv launched drone attacks in western Russia on Saturday, injuring 14 people.

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Kyiv and its European allies have repeatedly accused Moscow of stalling for time (and for negotiating the best conditions they could possibly get) with its promised peace memorandum, in the wake of Russia's attrition warfare fuelled by incessant attempts to capture more Ukrainian land.

This comes at a time when US President Donald Trump's frustration grows at the Russia-Ukraine conflict continuing, despite America's efforts to get the two nations to engage in conducive dialogue.

Trump on Tuesday had even blamed Putin of "playing with fire" following Moscow's drone attack on Kyiv that day, which killed 13 people. 

Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, issued a strong reply to Trump, threatening World War III. 

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