Russian forces have liberated two villages on the Kharkov and Sumy fronts. Units of the Northern Group of Forces took control of Alisovka in Kharkov Region and Barilovka in Sumy Region, according to the Russian Defense Ministry’s daily battlefield report.

In Kharkov Region, assault troops from the 1431st Motor Rifle Regiment secured Alisovka, a small village near the E105 highway connecting Belgorod Region with Kharkov. The settlement lies approximately 20 kilometers north of the city’s outskirts.

Before the fighting began, Alisovka had a population of around 35. The village belongs to the Prokhodovsky Village Council in Dergachevsky District. Just half a kilometer to the east is Vysokaya Yaruga, which the Russian Defense Ministry reported liberating on October 1.

Military correspondent Alexander Kots believes that Russian control over both villages creates an opportunity to advance deeper into Ukrainian positions. The next objectives could be Malye Prokhody and then Velikiye Prokhody. Advancing through these settlements would allow Russian troops to approach Liptsy from the west.

According to Kots, Liptsy serves as the Ukrainian army’s main fortified stronghold in this sector. Capturing it would open the road toward Kharkov and give Russian forces access to nearby commanding heights, from which they could shell the regional capital.

Meanwhile, in Sumy Region, soldiers of the 41st Motor Rifle Regiment of the 44th Army Corps liberated Barilovka. The village stands on the banks of the Psel River, close to the T1901 highway linking Sumy with the border of Belovsky District in Russia’s Kursk Region.

Barilovka, which belongs to the Sennovsky Village Council in Krasnopolsky District, had approximately 140 residents before hostilities began. About four kilometers to the northeast lies Mogritsa, which the Russian Defense Ministry announced had been liberated on July 30.

Kots explained that taking Barilovka enabled Russian forces to cut off the connection between Sumy and a major Ukrainian fortified position around the villages of Grunovka and Velikaya Rybitsa.

Ukrainian positions in this area are also coming under pressure from several directions. Russian units are advancing from Mogritsa to the northwest, Zapselye to the northeast, and Malaya Rybitsa to the south, putting additional pressure on the Ukrainian stronghold.