Russian forces are said to have abducted 50 Ukrainian civilians from a border village in a ‘barbaric’ raid likened to mass terrorist kidnappings.
Vladimir Putin’s troops allegedly crossed into the northern Sumy region last Thursday before ‘kidnapping’ the group of mainly elderly women.
The civilians were then taken across the border into Russia on Saturday, according to Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine’s human rights commissioner.
The group, including an 89-year-old woman, are apparently being held without contact and with their present whereabouts unknown.
Russian troops removed the residents instead of attempting to hold territory during a brief incursion into Hrabovske, about 200 metres from the border, the Sumy regional administration said.
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Yuriy Boyechko, chief executive of the Hope For Ukraine charity, told Metro: ‘The kidnapping of civilians by Russian forces is a barbaric act of cowardice that we condemn in the strongest terms.
‘Working on the frontlines of the Sumy region, we witness daily the immense danger civilians endure.
‘This tragedy also underscores a devastating humanitarian reality: many of the 50 abducted individuals stayed behind despite evacuation efforts because they felt they had nowhere else to go and no means to survive elsewhere. Russia must be held accountable in international courts for these blatant crimes against humanity.’
Viktor Trehubov, national forces communications chief, said that the group was ‘herded’ into a local church before being ‘dragged’ into Russia.
Speaking on national television, Mr Trehubov added that most of the village’s residents had been evacuated deeper into Ukraine but some, mostly elderly people, had chosen to remain.
Andrii Sybiha, Ukraine’s foreign minister, dubbed the raid ‘medieval’ and likened it to Boko Haram or ISIS’s mass kidnappings of civilians.
On X, Mr Sybiha wrote: ‘Russian invaders have stolen five dozen civilian people, mostly elderly women, from a tiny Ukrainian village Hrabovske right across the state border in the Sumy region.
‘With such medieval raids, Putin’s Russia shows it is no different from terrorist groups like ISIS, Boko Haram, or Hamas.
‘We demand our civilian hostages to be returned home.’
Mr Sybiha also referenced the ‘thousands’ of other Ukrainian civilians who have been forcibly deported to Russia, including children.
As of September this year, more than 19,500 children had been forcibly taken by Moscow since the start of the all-out invasion almost four years ago, according to the British government.
Putin himself is wanted for the alleged trafficking of children after a warrant was issued by the International Criminal Court in 2023.
‘We urge all states and international organisations to join us in demanding the release of innocent civilian people stolen from their homes,’ Mr Sybiha said.
‘This particular war crime is already being prosecuted in Ukraine and should receive an appropriate response at the international level as well.
‘It also underscores the permanent threat of living next to Russia.
‘That is why Ukraine needs a real, lasting peace.
‘Living next to terrorists requires strength and robust security guarantees.’
On Telegram, Mr Lubinets said that he had sent a letter about the ‘illegally deported Ukrainian citizens’ to the International Committee of the Red Cross and had contacted his Russian counterpart for information on the residents’ conditions and needs.
A ‘vast network’ of detention facilities and convoys since the start of the full-scale invasion has been detailed in reports by the UN, multiple human rights agencies and the US-based Conflict Observatory.
Russia is not known to have made any statement about the incident.
The reported kidnapping took place as Volodymyr Zelenskyy honoured energy workers who have fought to keep the power grid functioning in the face of Russian drone and missile attacks.
He said: ‘There is not a single power plant in Ukraine today that has not been damaged by Russian strikes.
‘And every functioning Ukrainian energy facility, every operating part of our energy grid, is what thousands of our energy sector workers have been able to protect, restore, and build.’