Russian Forces Step Up Pressure on Sumy Region Border, Abduct 19 Sopych Residents

The Russian army has intensified pressure along Ukraine’s eastern border in the Sumy region and is attempting to seize territory in border communities.

A map from the DeepState project demonstrates this.

According to the project’s data, Russian forces have occupied the village of Sopych in the Esman community and have also advanced near the settlements of Popivka, Vysoke, Komarivka, and Pokrovka.

Russian invaders took 19 residents of Sopych to Russia’s Bryansk region after a prolonged siege of the border area. Serhii Minakov, the head of the community, confirmed that contact with these people had already been lost the day before.

Before the start of active fighting, about 300 people lived in Sopych, but due to constant attacks most residents left the village.

Such incidents are not the first ones in the Sumy region. In December 2025, Russian forces took about 50 local residents from the border village of Hrabovske in the Krasnopillia community.

The removal of local residents to Russia was carried out for so-called “filtration measures.”