Against the backdrop of ongoing combat operations in Sumy region, Russian propagandists have once again made claims in the information space about allegedly establishing control over new settlements. This time, the villages in question are, according to Ukrainian military officials, in fact still under the full control of the Ukrainian Defence Forces. This was reported on August 30, 2026, by RBC-Ukraine, citing the official Facebook page of the "Kursk" Group of Forces.

Denial of the capture claim

As emphasized by the "Kursk" Group of Forces, the new claims by Russian propagandists about the "capture" of Veliky Prykol and Sadky in Sumy region do not correspond to reality. "Both settlements are under the control of the Ukrainian Defence Forces," the military noted. According to their data, the enemy managed to carry out only isolated assault actions, which ended where they began, without leading to any sustained advance or change of control over the territories.

"Dismissing" villages in a loop

Ukrainian military officials also drew attention to the systematic nature of such messages. "In one week, the Russians have 'dismissed' five settlements in the Sumy region. If one were to believe this report, the enemy should long since have exhausted the list of villages in the Sumy region. But each time the Russians find something new to 'dismiss' again," the group of forces stated. Thus, the repeated "liberation" of the same points in a loop is viewed as an element of informational pressure, rather than a reflection of the actual situation on the front line.

Contradictory data

The versions of the two sides on this issue directly contradict each other. On the one hand, the Ukrainian side (the "Kursk" Group of Forces, cited by RBC-Ukraine) asserts that Veliky Prykol and Sadky are under the control of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and that Russian assaults have not changed the situation. On the other hand, Russian sources, in particular the publication Prime (pnp.ru), report that the Russian army has allegedly established control over two settlements in Sumy region. Thus, the question of actual control over these villages remains a matter of contradictory claims and is not confirmed by independent data.

Worthy of separate attention is also the inconsistency in the toponym itself: the introductory part of the message mentions the name "Bolshoy Prykol," whereas the direct quote from the "Kursk" Group of Forces uses the variant "Veliky Prykol." This points to an inaccuracy in transcription or in the original source and requires caution when identifying the specific settlement.

Broader context: Pysarivka and Novekonstantynivka

The case of the two villages is not isolated. Earlier, the Defence Forces also refuted the Russian Ministry of Defence's claim of the occupation of the settlement of Novekonstantynivka (Perehoe Mayu) in Sumy region, calling it yet another fabrication. Similarly, Ukrainian defenders criticized reports of the alleged capture of the village of Pysarivka: according to their data, this settlement also remains under the control of the Ukrainian Defence Forces, and fighting in the area continues. The totality of these episodes forms a picture of repeated unverified claims of advance, which the Ukrainian side consistently refutes.

Significance for the front

To understand the real dynamics on the Sumy axis, it is important to separate such informational messages from confirmed combat actions. The Ukrainian side emphasizes that the enemy's isolated assault attempts do not change the picture of control over settlements, and their multiple "liberations" in the reports indicate the nature of the propaganda cycle. Until independent confirmation of actual control over the mentioned villages appears, both versions — of the capture and of the denial — remain within the field of contradictory data, which is reflected in this publication.