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Russia shells 9 communities in Sumy Oblast

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Russia shells 9 communities in Sumy Oblast
A Ukrainian flag flies outside a building in the city center damaged by Russian shelling, Okhtyrka, Sumy Oblast, northeastern Ukraine. (Ilustrative purposes only) (Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy/Future Publishing via Getty Images)

Russian forces shelled Sumy Oblast 102 times in 33 separate attacks on Feb. 2, the Sumy Oblast Military Administration reported. No casualties or damage to civilian infrastructure were reported.

At least nine communities along the border were targeted, including Yunakivka, Khotin, Krasnopillia, Bilopillia, Myropillia, Velyka Pysarivka, Esman, Seredyna-Buda, and Svesa.

Throughout the day, Russia assailed the border communities with artillery, mortar, rockets, drone, and grenade launcher attacks, while also dropping at least two mines onto the Svesa community.

The town of Bilopillia, with a pre-war population of about 15,600 residents, and surrounding areas experienced the most attacks during the day with Russian forces attacking it with mortar and artillery. At least 20 explosions were recorded, according to the administration. Bilopillia is located 45 kilometers away from Sumy, the regional center.

The residents who live in the vulnerable communities along Sumy Oblast's northeastern border with Russia are subject to daily shelling from nearby Russian troops.

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Olena Goncharova

Special Correspondent

Olena Goncharova is the Special Correspondent for the Kyiv Independent, where she has previously worked as a development manager and Canadian correspondent. She first joined the Kyiv Post, Ukraine's oldest English-language newspaper, as a staff writer in January 2012 and became the newspaper’s Canadian correspondent in June 2018. She is based in Edmonton, Alberta. Olena has a master’s degree in publishing and editing from the Institute of Journalism in Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv. Olena was a 2016 Alfred Friendly Press Partners fellow who worked for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for six months. The program is administered by the University of Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia.

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