Ukrainian authorities ordered the evacuation of the city of Kupiansk and three other localities in the northeastern Kharkiv region
The order covered the towns of Borova, which is located further south and close to the city of Izium, another significant logistical center, and Kupiansk, a rail hub situated along the Oskil River.
In the weeks after their invasion in February 2022, Russian soldiers took control of Kupiansk; however, Ukrainian troops recaptured the city later that year.
Oleh Syniehubov, the regional governor of Kharkiv, said on national television that the evacuation order was essential.
“The Kupiansk sector is under the most challenging circumstances. We can no longer guarantee the restoration of heat, power, or water supply on the east side of the Oskil River, which separates the city, because of the ongoing shelling,” the man said.
“All repair crews immediately come under Russian fire.”
As they advance westward in their attempt to capture the eastern Donetsk area of Ukraine, Russian soldiers are gaining ground and seizing communities. Additionally, they have been active for months in the Kharkiv area, concentrating on Kupiansk, farther north.
Throughout the majority of the more than two and a half-year-old conflict, Kharkiv, the second-largest city in Ukraine and located west of Kupiansk, has been the target of frequent drone and missile attacks.
Seven of the 19 fights that have been going on for the last 24 hours near Kupiansk are still ongoing, according to the General Staff of the Ukrainian military.
According to Syniehubov, Kharkiv had established evacuation centers; 3,000 people on the west bank of the Oskil River and 4,000 on the east bank were still in danger.
Large tracts of territory were taken by Ukrainian soldiers during a cross-border invasion into Russia’s Kursk area in August.
The Russian military claims to have retaken a number of villages, but Kyiv’s soldiers are maintaining their positions, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who said the operation was intended to divert Russian forces from the eastern front.
