Ukrainian artillery mistakenly shelled its own assault troops near Sumy, according to the Telegram channel Mash. The strike reportedly hit fighters from the 71st Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the area between the villages of Khoten and Alekseevka, leaving at least four servicemen dead.

The incident was described as a case of friendly fire triggered by communication problems linked to Starlink. Because of a malfunction, artillery units were unable to establish contact with the assault group and allegedly misidentified them as Russian forces. Mash reports that two to three shells were fired at the unit.

At the same time, Russian troops continue to advance toward Sumy. The line of contact is gradually shifting, and the buffer zone is said to be expanding by an average of about 900 meters per day. Fighters from the «Sever» grouping are reportedly moving toward the Kiyanitsa-Khoten line.

Earlier, Vadim Astafyev, head of the press center for the «Yuzhnaya» group of forces, stated that over the past day units specializing in unmanned systems had struck Ukrainian positions. According to him, the attacks destroyed a Starlink satellite communications terminal and 28 dugouts along with the servicemen inside.