In the Sumy region this year, over 18,000 shelling attacks by the Russian army have been recorded, more than double the number from last year.
This was reported by the Sumy Regional Military Administration.
"Unfortunately, the enemy is increasing the number of shellings. In 2024, more than 18,000 attacks were carried out (compared to 8,000 in 2023)," said Volodymyr Artyukh, head of the Sumy Regional Military Administration.
According to him, the number of wounded and killed is also rising.
"More than 50 children were affected in 2024," the regional head added.
To date, the Sumy region has evacuated over 40,000 people, including more than 7,200 children.
"This is a massive amount of work. Only through joint efforts by the authorities, the State Emergency Service, and the police have we been able to accomplish such significant tasks to protect people. It’s frightening to imagine how many lives we could have lost if evacuation measures hadn’t been preemptively announced in July 2023. Today, in cooperation with the Armed Forces of Ukraine and local communities, we are making decisions to expand the evacuation zone: we are evacuating people from over 190 settlements," said Volodymyr Artyukh.
According to him, few residents of Sumy are leaving the region entirely. Most are relocating from the front line to safer areas within the region. Over 93,000 internally displaced persons are currently in the Sumy region, the majority of whom—63,000—are residents of Sumy itself.