Approximately 100 Russian military personnel entered the village of Hrabovske in Sumy Oblast and attempted to advance toward Ryasnoye, according to Viktor Trehubov, head of the communications department of the Joint Forces Group.
Speaking on Suspilne, Trehubov described the incident as a "sudden attack." Russian forces entered Grabovskoye and attempted to capture the village with further movement toward Ryasnoye.
"Currently, Russian units are consolidating in the southern part of Grabovskoye. Ukrainian forces are trying to dislodge them from their occupied positions. Fighting continues in the village," Trehubov said.
He added that settlements located directly on the border with Russia, from which one can reach Russian territory on foot, can only be secured by creating a Ukrainian military control zone several kilometers deep into Russian territory.
The events follow reports from the evening of 20 December, when local media stated that Russians penetrated Hrabovske — located just a few kilometers from the Russian border — and removed all people who had previously signed refusals to evacuate deeper into Ukraine.
According to Ukrainian ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets, on 18 December Russian forces illegally detained approximately 50 civilians, held them without access to communication and proper conditions, and on 20 December forcibly deported them to Russia.
Dmytro Lykhoviy, an officer of the Main Communications Directorate of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said the group consisted mainly of elderly men and women, one of whom is 89 years old. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that children were among those deported.
Lubinets appealed to the Russian human rights ombudsman demanding information about the whereabouts of the deported Ukrainians, their detention conditions and immediate needs, and called for measures for their immediate return to Ukraine. Lubinets also sent a letter to the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Tregubov believes the situation in Hrabovske does not resemble an attempt to create a local breakthrough, but rather a provocation for a possible political or informational attack. The Joint Forces Group reported that fighting continues in the village, but there are no occupiers in neighboring Ryasnoye.
