RT reported that speaking in St. Petersburg. Petersburg on February 19, a day after the first high-level talks between Russia and the US in three years in Saudi Arabia, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that in the early morning of February 19 local time, forces of the 810th Naval Brigade "crossed the border between the Russian Federation and Ukraine, moving deep into neighboring territory".
We are expanding our attacks across the entire front line, Putin stressed.
The Russian Defense Ministry released a video showing a Iskander ballistic missile hitting Ukrainian artillery positions in Sumy province.
Russian Navy soldiers also used suicide drones to attack the enemy's warship. However, the Russian Defense Ministry did not mention any major advances in the region in its February 19 report.
Meanwhile, Andrey Kovalenko, leader of Ukraine's Sa Lich Anti-Information Center, confirmed that the country's forces had destroyed a Russian reconnaissance group trying to cross the border.
Russia had controlled Sumy in the early stages of the conflict in 2022 but withdrew after 2 months. By August 2024, Ukraine had used Sumy as a springboard to attack Russia's Kursk region, capturing several border villages and the town of Sudzha.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky later said he wanted to take advantage of these raids as an advantage in peace negotiations.
Recently, the Russian army has gradually pushed Ukrainian forces back from Kursk province. The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed on February 19 that the village of Sverdlikovo had been " released", and revealed a large number of Ukrainian prisoners arrested.
On February 18, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Foreign Minister Marco Rubio met in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) to discuss a way to end the conflict. Although there has been no breakthrough, the two sides agreed to continue working to normalize bilateral relations - something that has been suspended by the Biden administration since 2022.
On the same day, February 19, US President Donald Trump issued a tough statement, demanding that President Zelensky quickly negotiate with Russia to end the conflict that has lasted for the past 3 years. Mr Trump stressed that if not taken action soon, Mr Zelensky could "no longer have a country to lead".
