'Russians acted just like Hamas in Israel': expert on abduction of Ukrainians from Hrabovske village

Political scientist and expert from the Bureau of Policy Analysis Viktor Bobyrenko stated this on Espreso TV.

"This situation occurred in the Krasnopillia community - one of seven communities located in the Sumy region. Hrabovske was already under occupation in February-March 2022, but the Ukrainian Armed Forces drove the Russian army out, and people lived there and were even rebuilding what Russian tanks had destroyed," Bobyrenko noted.

According to the political scientist, the village of Hrabovske is located near Russia - literally pond by pond and you're in Russia - and the village remained in the shadow of the war.

"And then suddenly the Russians came in and took away 50 people. We can only guess at the enemy's motives, but I assume they demonstrated: if Hamas could enter Israel on October 7, 2023, capture people and then hold them hostage for a year, then we can do it too.

That is, the Russians acted exactly like HAMAS in Israel - identically. They came, took people and transported them away, now they are hostages who can be exchanged. In other words, they're behaving like terrorists," Bobyrenko emphasized.

What preceded this

On Saturday, December 20, Russian forces deported about 50 residents of the village of Hrabovske in the Sumy region to Russia.

On December 21, the Ukrainian Parliament's Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets appealed to Russian ombudswoman Tatyana Moskalkova requesting information about the whereabouts of the illegally deported Ukrainians from the Sumy region and assistance in their prompt return to Ukraine.