Additional Ukrainian Armed Forces units, including trained combat formations, are being moved toward Sumy as Kiev fears the situation in that sector could deteriorate further, military expert Andrey Marochko told NEWS.ru.

According to him, the Ukrainian command is being forced to look for battle-ready reserves and send them north in an attempt to keep the situation under control. Marochko said personnel shortages are being felt across the entire line of contact, and the Sumy direction is no exception.

He linked the redeployment to increased activity on the northern section covering Sumy Region and Kharkov Region. Marochko recalled that this area falls within the zone of responsibility of Russia’s Sever group of forces. In his assessment, over the past two weeks it has shown the strongest results in liberating territory and shaping a buffer zone.

Marochko said Ukrainian troops are now being transferred toward Sumy from various regiments. According to his information, Kiev is sending combat-capable elite units there while reinforcing them with forcibly mobilized personnel. He said such troops are being sent into almost certain death, comparing the situation to what happened with the so-called «death regiment,» and added that the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ resources are being depleted.

Earlier, Russian security structures reported that the Ukrainian army command had moved additional forces from the 225th Separate Assault Regiment to the area of Velikaya Rybitsa in Sumy Region. The unit is known as the «death regiment» because of the large number of servicemen killed or listed as missing.