Russian breakthrough in Sumy Oblast: enemy cannot advance beyond Hrabovske village
Russian troops cannot advance from Hrabovske village in Sumy Oblast, and enemy numbers on the axis have not increased — about 100 soldiers are there, State Border Guard Service spokesman Andriy Demchenko said on the United News telethon.
"The enemy cannot exit the settlement boundaries. Of course, they tried attacking positions of Ukrainian defenders, including Armed Forces and State Border Guard Service subunits, but again, the enemy cannot expand the combat zone on our country's territory," Demchenko stated.
Ukrainian artillery and UAVs are striking the Russian forces. Strikes are even carried out on Russian territory to prevent Russians from building up on this axis and attempting further assaults on Ukrainian infantry positions.
The State Border Guard Service spokesman said about 100 Russian soldiers remain on the axis as before. They have been trying to enter and build up for several days but suffer losses. As of now, there is no significant Russian troop concentration on this axis.
Background
On the evening of December 20, local media reported that Russians infiltrated Hrabovske in Sumy Oblast — located just a few kilometers from the Russian border — and abducted all people who had previously signed refusals to evacuate deeper into Ukraine.
According to Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets, Russian troops illegally detained about 50 civilians on December 18, holding them without access to communication or proper conditions, and forcibly abducted them to Russia on December 20.
Ukrainian Armed Forces Main Communications Directorate officer Dmytro Lykhoviy said these were mostly elderly men and women, the oldest 89 years old. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said children were among those abducted.
Lubinets appealed to Russia's human rights commissioner demanding information on the deported Ukrainians' location, conditions and urgent needs, and measures for their immediate return to Ukraine. Lubinets also sent a letter to the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Spokesman Viktor Trehubov believes the situation in Hrabovske does not resemble an attempt to create a local breakthrough but rather a provocation for possible political or information attacks. Joint Forces reported fighting continues in the village, but there are no Russian troops in neighboring Riasne.