Ukraine Evacuates Sumy Region Amid Shelling
Ukrainian authorities have begun the mass evacuation of communities in the Sumy region, in the north of the country, near the border with Russia, after prolonged periods of intense shelling in the area, local officials said on Friday, according to Reuters.
The Sumy Regional Military Administration wrote in a Telegram message that over 180 residents from areas near the Velikopisarska community, near the border, have been evacuated in the past three days.
Authorities in Sumy have been issuing daily reports of Russian shelling for some time, but the attacks have escalated. The regional administration said that the areas in question are the "most tense" in the Sumy region, with three people killed and 13 injured in the past five days.
The administration said that a total of more than 4,500 residents have been evacuated from 22 villages in the Sumy region, but did not give a time frame.
Velikopisarska is located a few kilometres from the village of Kozinka across the border in Russia - where local authorities said this week that an incursion by armed groups had caused significant damage. The groups presented themselves as being made up of Russians who opposed the Kremlin and said that they were carrying out a military operation in the area.
Belgorod region governor Viacheslav Gladkov said that shelling of areas under his jurisdiction continued on Thursday, with one person injured. Gladkov visited the border areas on Wednesday evening and said that he found no enemy forces in the region.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
