Over 60% of residents have evacuated from dangerous territories in Ukraine's northeastern Sumy Oblast amid continuous shelling of civilian infrastructure and intensified offensive operations along the border.
The evacuation pace has accelerated in recent days, with more than 400 residents leaving border communities during the week of 9-15 June alone. Among those evacuated were 26 children, according to the head of Sumy Regional Military Administration, Oleh Hryhorov.
The scale of the evacuation encompasses 213 settlements across Sumy Oblast, with 60 communities now completely abandoned by their residents.
Russian forces now conduct an average of 80 to 120 strikes daily against the region, Hryhorov reported in a recent interview with Suspilne Sumy. Seven civilians were killed since the beginning of June, including one child.
The intensity of attacks created a state of near-constant danger, with air raid alerts lasting an average of 14-15 hours daily.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy previously stated that Ukrainian forces had successfully halted Russian advancement in the Sumy direction. However, he also indicated that Russia has concentrated 50,000 soldiers in the area as part of an attempt to establish what he described as a "buffer zone" within Ukrainian territory.
Current occupation data from the analytical project DeepState shows 12 settlements in Sumy region remain under Russian control as of 14 June.
The Institute for the Study of War and Ukrainian officials, however, assessed that Russia lacks sufficient manpower and resources for a major breakthrough in Sumy, with many targeted villages evacuated and of limited strategic value.
Read also
-
Russia concentrates troops near Sumy Oblast, bombs 40 settlements in single day
-
Russian aerial attacks kill five civilians in Zaporizhzhia and Sumy oblasts
-
Russia prepares to attack Sumy Oblast from Kursk as Ukrainian forces reposition, says military expert
-
Zelenskyy: 50,000 Russian troops mass near Sumy bordering Russia’s Kursk for new offensive
