Kharkiv region announces mandatory evacuation from Kupiansk and three neighboring communities

Oleh Syniehubov, the head of the Kharkiv regional military administration, said this in a commentary to journalists on October 15, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

“Today, the Defense Council decided to evacuate all civilians from certain communities in the Kupiansk sector, including the city of Kupiansk. The decision to evacuate is a result of the deteriorating military situation and the inability to guarantee the heating season, electricity supply, and humanitarian aid in the area due to enemy shelling of critical infrastructure, which makes restoration impossible,” he said.

Apart from the Kupiansk city community, people will be evacuated from the Kindrashivka, Kurylivka and Petropavlivka communities.

“In addition, a decision was made to compulsorily evacuate families in the Borova community of the Izium district. There are about 250 such families there,” noted Synehubov.

He also stated that the evacuation process will be stepped up, given the reluctance of people to leave.

“There are a number of solutions, particularly the ferries will operate only in one direction, only for evacuation,” Syniehubov said.

According to him, about 4,000 residents remain on the left bank of the Oskil River in the Kupiansk district, with only about 4 kilometers from some settlements to the front line.

As reported, Russian troops are seeking to reach the eastern bank of the Oskil River in the Kharkiv region to use it as a natural defense barrier and create conditions for their future operations.