Ukraine orders mandatory evacuation from 11 additional villages in Sumy Oblast amid Russian troop buildup

Authorities have ordered the mandatory evacuation of residents from 11 additional villages in Sumy Oblast due to escalating Russian attacks, Governor Oleh Hryhorov said on May 31.

Hryhorov signed the order citing the "constant threat to civilian life" caused by ongoing shelling in the region. The evacuation covers settlements in local communities of Sumy Oblast, which lies  near the Russian border.

"(Russia) continues its terror of the borderlands, and our shared task is to save every life," Hryhorov said in a statement. "I urge residents not to delay the decision to evacuate. Staying in a zone of constant danger is a direct threat to your life and health."

With the latest order, a total of 213 settlements in Sumy Oblast are now under mandatory evacuation.

The move comes as Ukrainian officials and military analysts warn of a possible new Russian offensive targeting the region. On May 29, State Border Guard Service spokesperson Andrii Demchenko said Russia had amassed "sufficient forces" in neighboring Kursk Oblast to potentially launch an incursion into Sumy.

Speaking on national television, Demchenko noted that Russian troops have remained stationed in Kursk Oblast after being pushed out by Ukrainian forces during a counteroffensive in August 2024. Since then, Kyiv has observed fluctuating numbers of soldiers and equipment along the border.

"They have enough forces there (in Kursk Oblast) to carry out operations against our border and attempt to attack the territory of Ukraine," Demchenko said.

Russian forces recently captured four border villages, Novenke, Zhuravka, Veselivka, and Basivka, prompting further concern. President Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier that Moscow is concentrating 50,000 troops near Sumy Oblast in a bid to create a 10-kilometer buffer zone.

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Russia’s envoy to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzya, pledged that Moscow would “continue and intensify military operations for as long as necessary.”

The Kyiv IndependentTim Zadorozhnyy