Sumy Oblast announces mandatory evacuation for 6,000 residents as Russia intensifies attacks amid Kursk incursion
Sumy Oblast authorities announced further mandatory evacuation of 23 border settlements in the region amid intensified Russian attacks, Governor Volodymyr Artiukh said on Aug. 7.
Over the past day, Moscow's troops have increased aviation activity near the border areas of Sumy Oblast, dropping about 30 guided aerial bombs on the settlements, Ukraine's General Staff said in its latest update.
The announcement coincides with reports of Ukraine's cross-border incursion into Russia's Kursk Oblast. Moscow said clashes on Russian soil began on Aug. 6 and they have continued into the next day.
Kyiv has not commented on the incursion.
Speaking on national television, Artiukh described the situation in the region as "quite tense," but under the control of the Ukraine's Armed Forces.
Up to 6,000 people, including 425 children, can be evacuated to safe places, he said.
Earlier in the day, a source in intelligence services told the Kyiv Independent that a Ukrainian first-person-view (FPV) drone hit a Russian Mi-28 attack helicopter over Kursk Oblast on Aug. 6. According to the crowd-sourced monitoring website DeepState, one Russian Ka-52 attack helicopter and at least two tanks were destroyed.
Since the Russian-occupied parts of Sumy Oblast were liberated in early April 2022, the region has been experiencing daily strikes from across the border, as it is located on Ukraine's northeastern border with Russia.
Kateryna Denisova
