Residents taken to Russia amid occupation: Details from Sumy region
Illustrative photo: Russia has taken dozens of people from a village in Sumy region (GettyImages)
Russian troops have indeed taken civilian residents of the village of Hrabovske in the Krasnopillia community of the Sumy region to Russia.
This was reported on Telegram by Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets.
According to his information, on December 18 Russian troops illegally detained about 50 civilians, residents of the village of Hrabovske in the Sumy region. The occupiers held them without access to means of communication and without proper conditions, and on December 20 forcibly transported them to the territory of the Russian Federation.
"Such actions constitute a gross violation of international humanitarian law — violations of the laws and customs of war, unlawful deprivation of liberty, and the forced deportation of the civilian population," Lubinets said.
He also noted that he has already appealed to the Human Rights Commissioner of the Russian Federation, demanding information on the whereabouts of the illegally deported citizens of Ukraine.
Photo: deepstatemap.live
What the Armed Forces say
According to Viktor Trehubov, head of the communications department of the Joint Forces Group, on the evening of December 20 Russian troops did indeed take about 50 people out of the settlement. Most of them were civilian men.
According to him, Russian forces also attempted to create a so-called infiltration zone around the village with a depth of up to one kilometer. He emphasized that the occupiers’ actions do not appear to be an attempt at a large-scale breakthrough.
"This does not look like an attempt to create any kind of local breakthrough. As of now, it does not appear that they are trying to stage any major operation. This looks like a localized provocation in a direction that previously was not a key one," Trehubov added.
What preceded this
Earlier, media reported alleged breakthroughs by Russian forces across the border in the Sumy region and their entry into the village of Hrabovske. It was also reported that the occupiers may have taken more than 50 people to the territory of the Russian Federation for so-called "filtration measures" and were advancing toward other settlements.
However, at the time, the regional military administration clarified that amid heightened threats in the border communities of the Sumy region, the evacuation of civilians is ongoing. According to the administration, in particular from the Krasnopillia community, some residents who had previously refused to leave were evacuated using armored vehicles.
