121 people have died since the beginning of the year in Sumy region communities where evacuations were announced

In the border communities of the Sumy region—where the situation has become critical due to Russian aggression and evacuations were ordered—121 people have lost their lives since the start of the year.

The body of a person killed in a Russian strike on October 6 was recovered from the Svesa community in the Shostka district.

Settlements closest to the border pose the highest risk to life, yet people still remain there. In some areas, the security situation is so dire that even recovering the bodies of the deceased poses a risk to the police, rescue workers, military personnel, and other service members entering the zone.

The highest number of civilian casualties from Russian attacks occurred in the border communities of the Shostka and Sumy districts, specifically: Seredyna-Buda, Krasnopillia, Velyka Pysarivka, Mykolaivka (rural), Bilopillia, and Hlukhiv.

More than 34,000 people, including 436 children, still remain in areas of the Sumy region where mandatory evacuation has been announced.

Russian authorities have repeatedly stated their intention to create a so-called “buffer zone” in Ukraine’s Sumy region—a strip approximately 20 kilometers wide free of both Ukrainian troops and civilians—alleging that the Armed Forces of Ukraine shell Russia’s Kursk and Bryansk regions from there and that sabotage groups could infiltrate Russian territory from the area.