Ukrainian border guards report no Russian attempts to advance beyond Hrabovske in Sumy Oblast

Russian occupying forces have reduced their assault activity in Sumy Oblast in recent days.

Source: Colonel Andrii Demchenko, spokesperson for the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, during the national joint 24/7 newscast

Details: Demchenko said that the Russians have somewhat reduced their activity and have not carried out assault actions for several days in Sumy Oblast in the sectors where State Border Guard Service units are deployed.

Quote: "Within the Krasnopillia hromada, particularly towards the village of Hrabovske, the enemy has not undertaken any active actions in recent days aimed at breaking out of the settlement and advancing deeper into our country's territory." [A hromada is an administrative unit designating a village, several villages, or a town, and their adjacent territories – ed.]

Previously: On 31 December, Viktor Trehubov, Head of the Communications Directorate of the Joint Forces grouping, said that Russian forces had entrenched themselves in the village of Hrabovske in Sumy Oblast, but Ukraine's defence forces were doing everything possible to ensure this would not last long.

Background:

• Kordon.Media, a local news outlet in Sumy Oblast, reported that on the night of 19-20 December, Russian troops entered the border village of Hrabovske in the Krasnopillia hromada of Sumy Oblast, which is located directly on the state border.
• The following day, Ukraine's Armed Forces confirmed that Russian troops had crossed the state border near the village of Hrabovske in Sumy Oblast, on the border with Russia, and had taken more than 50 civilians from the area. The General Staff said that "stabilisation measures" were under way there.
• President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Russian forces had taken 52 civilians hostage from the village of Hrabovske in Sumy Oblast, including children, and had also captured 13 members of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
• DeepState, a Ukrainian group of military analysts, reported that a group of Ukrainian fighters responsible for holding the border section in the village of Hrabovske had acted irresponsibly when carrying out their tasks, which allowed Russian forces to enter the area.

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