Russia claims it took control of border settlement in Ukraine’s Sumy region

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Russia on Monday claimed that it took control of a border settlement in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region.

According to a Defense Ministry statement posted on Telegram, Russian forces captured the village of Hrabovske, located about 51 kilometers (31.7 miles) southeast of the city of Sumy.

Hrabovske is adjacent to the settlement of Staroselye in Russia’s border region of Belgorod.

On Sunday, Viktor Trehubov, a Ukrainian military spokesperson, claimed that Russian forces are remotely mining the border village to prevent Ukrainian counterattacks.

“It seems to me that they planned to go further, to attack the Sumy region, but it didn't work out. That's why they are creating such a small outpost from Hrabovske,” Trehubov told Ukraine’s public broadcaster Suspilne.

In late December, citing the Main Directorate of Communications of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, state news agency Ukrinform reported that Russian forces crossed into the Sumy region near Hrabovske, due to which Ukrainian troops withdrew from several nearby positions.

It claimed that Russian troops entered the border village and took more than 50 people into Russia. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later said 13 of the country’s servicemen were among those taken.

Ukrainian ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets also reaffirmed the claim in a separate statement, saying he asked his Russian counterpart Tatyana Moskalkova to provide information on the issue, and that he also sent a letter to the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Neither Russian nor Ukrainian authorities have commented on each other's claims, and independent verification of the claims is difficult due to the war that has continued for nearly four years.