All the residents of 19 villages in the northern Sumy Oblast had to be evacuated due to their proximity to the Russian border and constant attacks, the regional administration told Suspilne, a Ukrainian media outlet, on Dec. 24.
Sumy Oblast borders Russia’s Bryansk, Kursk, and Belgorod oblasts. The region has been subjected to frequent Russian attacks since the Russian troops were forced to withdraw from northern Ukraine after the Battle of Kyiv in spring 2022.
The evacuated villages are located within a 5-kilometer range of the Russian border.
The regional administration didn’t specify the number of people evacuated from the 19 villages.
This is not the end of the campaign to evacuate civilians from the areas subject to Russian attacks in Sumy Oblast in northern Ukraine.
The local authorities started the evacuation from the 5-kilometer range of the Russian border in mid-July. The authorities said they aimed to relocate 12,689 people, including 712 children. A total of 115 settlements in the oblast were subject to evacuation.
As of early December, 3,679 people, including 679 children, have been evacuated in Sumy Oblast.
The Northern Command of Ukraine’s military reported on Dec. 24 that Russian forces had carried out 19 over-the-border attacks against Sumy Oblast in one day, using multiple rocket launchers, artillery, and mortars.
Neither casualties nor destruction have been reported.
Residents in the region's vulnerable border settlements experience multiple attacks per day. Earlier, at least 18 settlements in Sumy Oblast have been abandoned by residents due to attacks, according to the local authorities. It's not clear if they are counted among the evacuated settlements.
Martin Fornusek
