Ukraine steps up calls for evacuation of Kupiansk
Months after Russian soldiers were driven out of Kupiansk, Ukrainian authorities are stepping up efforts to evacuate civilians from the town in the Kharkiv region of northeast Ukraine amid relentless Russian shelling.
Ukrainian troops routed Russian forces from much of the Kharkiv region when they mounted a rapid counteroffensive in September that ended months of occupation and helped shift the momentum of the conflict in Ukraine’s favor.
But since then, Moscow’s forces have made it impossible for Ukraine to restore everyday life in the reclaimed areas. Russian troops have continued to pound parts of the region close to front lines, including Kupiansk.
Aside from the impact on civilians, the attacks prevent Ukraine from redeploying troops stationed in those areas to other parts of the battlefield, according to the Institute for the Study of
War, a research organization based in Washington.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said Sunday that its forces had hit Ukrainian military positions around Kupiansk, and local Ukrainian officials on Sunday said there had been shelling in the area.
The Ukrainian General Staff, which is responsible for military strategy, said in an evening update Sunday that Russian forces were conducting “indiscriminate shelling of settlements.”
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine praised the workers around the country who restore power and help those in need, citing rescuers in the Kharkiv region along with those in other front-line areas.
Kupiansk was experiencing the hottest fighting in the region, Oleh Syniehubov, the head of the Ukrainian regional military administration, said Saturday. He urged any remaining residents to leave.
“Enemy forces are relentlessly trying to attack the positions of our forces. That’s why we announced mandatory evacuation,” Syniehubov said on national television, adding that local authorities and volunteer groups were trying to move people to safer locations elsewhere in the region.
The streets of Kupiansk were largely deserted Friday when a reporting team from The New York Times visited, and the damage from recent Russian artillery strikes was visible. Some buildings that had been intact when Ukrainian forces recaptured the town in September were now scarred by explosions. Houses and shops were boarded up, and a few people were getting onto a bus to Kharkiv.
Many Ukrainians who live close to the country’s front lines have fled fighting but others have defied evacuation calls from officials despite the danger. In many places, those who have chosen to remain are elderly and in poor health. Others have said they were worried about economic insecurity if they were to relocate.