Russia announced that it had captured Grabovsky, a village in northeastern Ukrainian Sumy region, located near the Russian border, where Kiev announced in late December that it was facing an offensive, Agence France-Presse reported, BTA reported.
"Units of the United Forces Group "North" have taken control of the village of Grabovsky in the Sumy region as a result of active operations," the Russian Defense Ministry said in its daily briefing.
The Ukrainian army reported fighting in the sector in December after Russian soldiers crossed the border to launch an offensive. Russian forces now occupy more than 200 sq km of territory in Sumy region.
Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubynets accused Moscow's army of "forcibly" evacuating about 50 civilians from Grabovsky to Russia. AFP stresses that it is unable to verify these allegations.
Sumy region is not among the regions of Ukraine that Moscow has announced it has annexed, but President Vladimir Putin has ordered his troops to create a "buffer zone" to prevent Ukrainian forces from entering Russia, as happened in the summer of 2024.