Zelensky: Among civilians kidnapped by Russians in Sumy region were children
Ukrainian military forces in the Sumy region refrained from destroying Russian forces in order not to endanger the civilian population remaining in the border village.
This was announced by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in response to questions from journalists during a ceremony marking Diplomatic Service Day, according to a Ukrinform correspondent.
The head of state described the situation in one of the border villages on the border with Russia, which is partly located on the territory of Ukraine and partly on the territory of the Russian Federation.
“There were 52 people left there: civilians, citizens of Ukraine, who did not evacuate, no matter how much we talked to them. And this has been going on for a long time,” Zelensky said.
According to him, among these people were women, children, and persons of draft age.
“About 17-18 people were of draft age. The rest were women and children. I am surprised that there were children there. I am surprised that parents treat their children this way,” the president said.
Zelensky emphasized that the villagers had been living in conditions of actual contact with the territory of the Russian Federation for a long time and did not expect the events to develop violently.
“I think they just didn't expect the ‘Russian’ military to simply come in and take them prisoner. That's what happened,” the head of state stressed.
The president also said that Ukrainian servicemen are also being held captive.
“I know that 13 of our soldiers are also being held captive,” he added.
At the same time, according to him, the Armed Forces of Ukraine had the opportunity to destroy the enemy, but deliberately did not do so.
“Our troops could have destroyed the enemy there, could have destroyed them from a distance with artillery and drones. They did not do so because there were civilians there. They did not want to kill civilians,” Zelensky emphasized.
The president assured that Ukrainian positions on this section of the front will be restored.
“We will restore all our positions there. That is clear. What to do next, how to return people, are other steps,” he concluded.
As reported by Ukrinform, as a result of the rapid advance of Russian troops in the Sumy region, Ukrainian defenders withdrew from several positions in the Hrabovske area. Stabilization measures and measures to detect and destroy enemy forces are currently underway.
The Main Communications Directorate of the Armed Forces of Ukraine confirmed that after the capture of Hrabovske, more than 50 civilians were forcibly taken to Russia. These are mainly people who had previously refused to be evacuated deeper into Ukraine.