The Russian forces prevented an expansion of the battlefield although the enemy took positions in some villages near the common border, complicating the work of Russian artillery and aviation against the aggressors given the presence of the civilian population in some settlements, the Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper reported.

“Naturally, our military cannot bomb sites where civilian residents are sheltering. The constant shelling of the Ukrainians hampers the population evacuation”, the Ministry said in a statement.

To prevent Ukrainian units from reinforcing those already in Russian territory, the Air Force began to work preemptively and launched airstrikes against the reserves of the Armed Forces of Ukraine advancing from the Sumi region.

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