Clashes are ongoing in the village of Hrabovske in the Sumy region, where Ukraine’s defense forces are battling Russian occupiers and trying to push them back across the border into Russia, said the Joint Forces Task Force in a post on Telegram:
“At present, fighting continues in the settlement of Hrabovske. Ukrainian defenders are working to push the occupiers back onto Russian territory,” the statement said.
The Ukrainian military also denied media reports about the alleged presence of Russian units in the neighboring settlement of Riasne, saying that, according to official information, no occupying forces are there today.
Overnight on December 20, the situation in border districts of Sumy region sharply escalated. Russian units entered the village of Hrabovske in the Krasnopillia community, located just 200 meters from Ukraine’s state border, and took about 50 residents into Russian territory.
Russian forces exploited the village’s proximity to the border and quickly established control, the outlet Kordon.Media reported on December 20.
According to preliminary information, just over 50 residents remained in Hrabovske after previously declining official evacuation. All were forcibly taken into the Russian Federation. The Russian forces said the deportation was part of so-called “filtration measures,” a direct violation of international humanitarian law.
The removal of civilians was confirmed by Hrabovske village elder Larysa Kremezna in a comment to Suspilne . “About 50 people remained there. They were taken into Russian territory,” she said, adding that no children were among those deported.
Ruslan Mikula, co-founder of the DeepState analytical project, told Suspilne that Russian units have stepped up activity around Hrabovske. He said the situation is still being clarified.
Ukraine’s Armed Forces officially confirmed the border breach and the capture of the settlement.
In comments to Ukrainska Pravda, Dmytro Lykhovii, an officer with the Armed Forces’ Main Communications Directorate, said Russian troops did enter Hrabovske, after which Ukraine’s Defense Forces had to withdraw from several positions in the area.
He said that after taking the village, Russian forces forcibly transported more than 50 Ukrainian civilians into Russia. Most were elderly men and women; the oldest deportee was 89.
Amid the escalation, the military and local authorities are again urging residents in border areas not to refuse evacuation. According to the Armed Forces, the Sumy regional administration has already organized a large-scale evacuation - moving more than 30,000 people from dangerous districts. Nearly 5,700 residents, including 38 children, have still not agreed to leave the frontline zone.
