Aiming to create a "buffer zone," Russian forces have seized villages near Sumy, Ukraine’s northern regional capital. As 50,000 Russian troops accumulate on Ukraine’s border, the Sumy region prepares for a renewed large-scale offensive. More than 200 settlements are under evacuation orders after Russia advanced deeper into Ukrainian territory.

Ukraine is increasingly relying on unmanned systems to counter Russian forces, with Commander-in-Chief Syrskyi reporting over 89,000 Russian military targets “hit” by drones in May alone. -As Russia also expands its unmanned units,

The challenge is that Russia has China’s industrial backing, allowing it to scale more effectively than Ukraine. China produces 80 percent of the world’s fiber-optic supply. Russia has far more state finances to allow the purchasing of these supplies, while Ukraine still heavily relies on volunteers to drive some of these efforts .