Russians killed a couple who were trying to evacuate from Sumy Oblast
Russian forces killed two civilians in the Sumy region borderlands on January 27, 2026, as they were attempting to evacuate from a high-risk area, reported Oleh Hryhorov, head of the Sumy Oblast Military Administration.
According to Hryhorov, the man was transporting his injured wife on a sledge toward a safer area. During transportation, the Russian military intentionally targeted the couple, fully aware they were civilians.
The first strike killed the 52-year-old woman. Shortly after, a second FPV drone strike killed her husband.
“These people could have been saved. Но repeated enemy attacks stripped them of any chance to reach safety. This is yet another Russian war crime,” Hryhorov emphasized.
He expressed his deepest condolences to the relatives and loved ones of the deceased family.
The official also urged residents of border communities not to delay evacuation, noting that remaining in the border area during heightened FPV drone activity is life-threatening.
In the Sumy Oblast, police recently assisted an elderly resident in evacuating to a safer area. Antonina Ivanivna, 91, lived in the Bilopillia “hromada,” a local government area that includes one or more nearby settlements. The community’s center is located just a few kilometers from the Russian border, leaving residents to suffer from constant shelling since nearly the first day of the full-scale war.
For a long time, the woman was reluctant to leave her home, having spent her entire life there and having witnessed war firsthand as a child. Throughout the year she was being persuaded to leave, the situation in the region continued to deteriorate. Eventually, she was left without electricity, heating, or communications.
