Nearly 37,000 residents, including over 6,400 children, have been evacuated from Sumy Oblast, according to the Sumy Oblast Military Administration on Oct. 13, reports the Kyiv Independent.
The evacuation is part of expanded mandatory orders as attacks in the region continue.
Sumy Oblast, located on Ukraine's northeastern border with Russia, faces daily assaults and is situated across from Russia's Kursk Oblast, where Ukraine has ongoing military operations.
In recent months, Russian forces have increased the use of guided aerial bombs near Sumy's border areas.
In August, officials announced plans to evacuate 45,000 residents. Since then, 16,000 additional people have been evacuated, including 535 adults and 143 children in the past week alone.
On Sept. 30, local authorities expanded mandatory evacuation orders, requiring children and their parents within the 10-kilometer zone near the Russian border to leave.
As of now, all residents in that zone have been evacuated.
On Oct. 13, Russian forces attacked six communities in Sumy Oblast, causing 21 explosions. Residents in the region regularly endure hundreds of explosions daily, underscoring the urgency of the ongoing evacuation efforts.
