Ukraine battles attempted Russian breakthrough in border region

KYIV: The Ukrainian army was battling an attempted Russian breakthrough in the Sumy region, it said on Sunday, following reports that Moscow forcibly moved 50 people from a border village there. 

This marks a renewed Russian advance in the part of the region previously largely spared from intense ground fighting since Ukraine regained land there in a swift 2022 counter-offensive.

“Fighting is currently ongoing in the village of Grabovske,” Ukraine’s joint task force said, adding the troops were “making efforts to drive the occupiers back into Russian territory.”

It has also refuted media reports saying that the Moscow troops were in the neighbouring Ryasne village.

Earlier on Sunday, the Ukrainian rights ombudsman said the enemy’s troops forcibly moved about 50 people from Grabovske to Russia.

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On Thursday, Russian soldiers “illegally detained about 50 civilians – residents of the village of Grabovske in the Sumy region,” ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said.

He added that they were held incommunicado in poor conditions, before the Russians “forcibly took them to the territory of the Russian Federation” on Saturday.

AFP is unable to verify the claims, and there was no official Russian comment on the matter.

However, on Saturday, the Russian army said it had captured the village of Vysoke, a few miles from Grabovske.

Sumy military administration said on Saturday it evacuated residents from the border communities in the area, who previously refused to leave, in armoured vehicles.

The breakthrough attempt comes as Russia slowly but steadily gains ground in eastern Ukraine amid renewed talks to end the four-year war.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that over the week, “Russia has launched approximately 1,300 attack drones, nearly 1,200 guided aerial bombs, and 9 missiles of various types” against Ukraine.