The decision to evacuate the town of Hlukhiv, the villages of Esman and Svesa of Shostka district, the villages of Manukhivka and Ivanivka of Konotop district of Sumy region was made at a meeting of the Defense Council, head of Sumy regional military administration Volodymyr Artiukh said, following a meeting of the coordination headquarters of Shostka district in Hlukhiv.

"An increase in the intensity of enemy shelling of Hlukhiv, Esman and Svesa, which are currently suffering the most, has been noted. Considering that the enemy strikes dozens of times daily, resulting in deaths, destruction of infrastructure and housing, a decision was made at a meeting of the Defense Council to expand the list of settlements for evacuation. Namely, five more settlements of Shostka and Konotop districts are subject to mandatory evacuation: Hlukhiv, Esman, Svesa of Shostka district, Manukhivka and Ivanivka of Konotop district," Sumy Regional Military Administration said on its Telegram channel.

During a meeting of the coordination headquarters of Shostka district, Artiukh discussed with those present the priority evacuation measures and the operational security situation in the district.

According to him, the evacuation from the above-mentioned five settlements of Shostka and Konotop districts will take place in several stages.

All five settlements are located within ten kilometers from the state border with Russia.