Zelensky claims Russia's advance on Sumy has failed

After several months of fierce fighting, Ukraine says it has stopped a Russian advance in north-east Ukraine.

"As of today, we can state that the Russian offensive operation in (the Sumy region) has been completely foiled by our forces," President Volodymyr Zelenskyi wrote in a post on Telegram following a consultation with the army leadership, including army commander-in-chief Olexander Syrskyi.

The fighting in the border areas was continuing, but the Russian group was no longer in a position to attack, Zelensky asserted.

In June, Russian President Vladimir Putin once again declared that the Russian army should conquer a buffer zone of around 10 kilometres in the Ukrainian border region of Sumy.

This was intended to prevent Ukrainian advances, including into the western Russian region of Kursk, as was the case last year.

According to Ukrainian military observers, Russian troops continue to control more than 200 square kilometres in the Sumy region.

Ukraine has been defending itself against a Russian invasion for more than three and a half years with Western help.

Including the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which was annexed in 2014, almost a fifth of Ukraine's territory is now under Russian control.