Mandatory evacuation as Russian forces intensify in the Sumy region
Due to the intensifying Russian offensive, which poses a direct threat to the lives of residents, the authorities of the Sumy region in northeastern Ukraine have declared a mandatory evacuation of 11 more villages, according to the local military administration.
According to the statement, the head of the administration, Oleh Hryhorov, signed the decision to evacuate the residents due to continuous shelling of border areas. The evacuated villages are located northwest of the city of Sumy, in the Bilopillia district, just 10-14 kilometres from the border with Russia. Although the front line is currently about 30 kilometres further north, the threat remains real.
A total of over 200 localities evacuated
Hryhorov reported that since the beginning of the invasion, a total of 213 localities in the Sumy region have been subject to mandatory evacuation. He added that more than 60 percent of the civilian population from the border regions has already been moved to safe places.
On Tuesday, local authorities confirmed that Russian forces had taken over four localities in the border zone: Novenke and Basiwka in the Yunakiivka municipality, and Veselivka and Zhuravka in the Khotin municipality. According to analysts, Moscow's objective may be to create a buffer zone.
Russians are pouring in from the north
The previous day, the DeepState portal reported that Russians had occupied an area of approximately 60 square kilometres in the northeastern part of the region, between the Russian town of Sudzha and the city of Sumy. This area includes, among others, the mentioned villages on both sides of the salient.
Creating a buffer zone of such depth could effectively prevent Ukrainians from conducting artillery fire and tactical drone attacks on Russian territory from the Sumy region.
