Authorities in the Sumy region of northeastern Ukraine stated late Monday that Russian troops had taken control of four villages as part of their strategy to establish a “buffer zone” near the border with Ukraine.

Oleh Hryhorov, the Governor of the Sumy region, shared on Facebook the names of the four villages now occupied by Russian forces: Novenke, Basivka, Veselivka, and Zhuravka. He noted that the inhabitants of these villages had already been evacuated to safer locations.

“The enemy continues to attempt to advance in order to create what they call a ‘buffer zone,'” Hryhorov remarked.

He added that Ukrainian forces are maintaining control of the situation and delivering accurate fire strikes against the enemy.

Fighting is ongoing around other nearby villages, such as Volodymyrivka and Bilovodiv, Hryhorov mentioned. Earlier on Monday, Russia’s Defense Ministry asserted that both of these villages are now under its control.

Additionally, Ukraine’s State Emergency Services reported one fatality on Monday due to shelling by Russian forces in an area of the Sumy region located west of the four villages that were captured.

The Sumy region lies across from Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces carried out a significant cross-border operation last August. Russia claims that Ukrainian troops have withdrawn from Kursk, while Kyiv asserts that its forces remain active there.