Russian forces have taken control of four villages in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region as part of an effort to build a “buffer zone” along the border, Ukrainian officials said.

In a statement on Facebook on Monday, Sumy Governor Oleh Hryhorov said the villages captured are Novenke, Basivka, Veselivka, and Zhuravka, all located near the border with Russia’s Kursk region. He added that residents had already been evacuated.

According to Hryhorov, fighting is ongoing near other villages in the area, including Volodymyrivka and Bilovodiv. “The enemy is continuing attempts to advance with the aim of setting up a so-called ‘buffer zone,’” he said.

Hryhorov added that Ukrainian forces “are keeping the situation under control, inflicting precise fire damage on the enemy.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced last week that he had ordered the military to establish security buffer zones along the border with Ukraine to prevent incursions like the one that occurred in Kursk. However, he did not disclose any public details about the location or scope of the proposed zones.

Moscow now claims it controls six villages in Sumy. Ukrainian authorities have not confirmed this number.

Meanwhile, Russia’s intensified bombing campaign appeared to ease overnight, with significantly fewer drones targeting Ukrainian cities and towns.

Ukrainian officials reported that roughly 900 drones were launched by Russia between Friday and Sunday, marking a surge in large-scale aerial attacks. The most intense wave came Sunday night, when Russia carried out its largest drone assault of the war so far, deploying 355 drones in a single night. 

That pace slowed between Monday and Tuesday, with Ukraine’s air force reporting 60 drones launched during that period. In response, Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed it had intercepted 99 Ukrainian drones overnight across seven regions of Russia.