December 21, 2025, 4:11 p.mDecember 21, 2025, 4:24 p.m
According to Ukrainian sources, Russian soldiers have abducted around 50 Ukrainians from the border region of Sumy in the northeast of the country to Russia. Ukrainian human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets wrote on Telegram, citing preliminary information, that soldiers of the Russian armed forces had already captured about 50 residents of the village of Hrabovske on Thursday, held them without access to means of communication and appropriate conditions, and deported them to Russia on Saturday. The information cannot be independently verified.
Lubinets said he had contacted the Russian human rights commissioner and the International Committee of the Red Cross. He appealed to Ukrainians that it was dangerous to remain in the combat zone and that evacuation was an opportunity to save themselves and loved ones.
Ukrainian media reported, citing the military, that the approximately 50 people were mostly people who had previously refused to be evacuated into the interior of Ukraine. The region’s military governor, Oleh Hryhorov, wrote on social media that the evacuation from border communities would continue. Residents who had previously refused to leave the area were also evacuated.
Ukraine has been defending itself against the Russian war of aggression for almost four years. The Sumy region is repeatedly the target of Russian attacks. (sda/dpa)