Russia has begun gathering residents of Russian settlements bordering Ukraine to simulate the evacuation of Ukrainians from cities surrounded by Russian occupiers, head of Sumy regional military administration Dmytro Zhyvytsky said.

"The Russians right now want to commit provocations on their territory. They collect buses near the village of Sudzha [Kursk region], gather local residents: grandparents, women, children in this village and try to make a picture for their propaganda media supposedly Ukrainians are being evacuated to the territory of the Russian Federation," Zhyvytsky said in a video message on Monday.

He said that the Russians "do not have enough brains to do some new creative things, so they act with the same methods that they used in other countries."

"Today they do the same and try to provoke the situation by showing that the Ukrainians allegedly want to evacuate to the territory of the Russian Federation. Remember, Russians, not a single real Ukrainian will ever cross into the territory of the enemy. We will not accept any humanitarian convoys from the Russian Federation," the head of Sumy region administration said

Zhyvytsky also said that Ukrainian volunteers, the defense forces and the Armed Forces "will perceive the movement of any transport from Russia as a further invasion of the Russian Federation into the territory of Ukraine."

"We know about all your actions," Zhyvytsky said.

He also expressed hope for the opening of humanitarian corridors in Sumy region in the near future. "We are doing everything dependent and independent of us, we are working with the Armed Forces, negotiators are working, everyone is working," he said.