Sumy Oblast (), also known as Sumshchyna (), is an oblast (province) in northeast Ukraine. The oblast was created in its most recent form, from the merging of raions from Kharkiv Oblast, Chernihiv Oblast, and Poltava Oblast in 1939 by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. The estimated population is The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Sumy. Other important cities within the oblast include Konotop, Okhtyrka, Romny, and Shostka. The oblast has a heavy mix of agriculture and industry, with over 600 industrial locations. Importantly, seven rivers pass through the oblast. Geography The Sumy Oblast is situated in the northeastern part of Ukraine. It is situated on a border of two historical regions of Ukraine — Cossack Hetmanate (annexed by Russia in the 18th century as Little Russia, previously known as Severia) and Sloboda Ukraine. Elevation is 110–240m above sea level. The area of the oblast (23,800 km2), comprises about 3.95% of the total area of the country. The oblast borders Bryansk Oblast (Russia) on the northeast, Belgorod Oblast and Kursk Oblast (Russia) on the east, Poltava Oblast on the southwest, Kharkiv Oblast on the south, and the Chernihiv Oblast on the west. Seven main rivers flow through the oblast, with the Desna River the largest. History The region was created on the ukase of Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union on 10 January 1939 as part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. The newly created Sumy Oblast included 12 former raions of Kharkiv Oblast, 17 former raions of Chernihiv Oblast, and 2 former raions of Poltava Oblast. During World War II in 1941–43, it was occupied by Nazi Germany under administration of the German Wehrmacht. After the German forces were driven out, the Soviet Union regained control of the region under jurisdiction of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1965 one of former Chernihiv Oblast raions (Talalaivka Raion) was returned to Chernihiv Oblast. During the 2022 invasion of Ukraine the Sumy Oblast was one of the first regions where Russian and Ukrainian forces clashed. Parts of the oblast came under Russian occupation during the invasion. On 4 April 2022 Governor of Sumy Oblast Dmytro Zhyvytskyi stated that Russian troops no longer occupied any towns or villages in Sumy Oblast and had mostly withdrawn, while Ukrainian troops were working to push out the remaining units. On 8 April 2022