Settlements around the liberated city of Kupyansk in Ukraine's Kharkiv oblast are being evacuated again because of increasing Russian attacks.
In September 2022, Ukraine recaptured all of Kupyansk, crossing over the Oskil River in a key moment in its successful "lightning" Kharkiv counteroffensive. But for the second time in five months, local authorities have urged residents there to flee to safety because of the fierce fighting.
A map by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), which provides daily graphics of the situation on the ground, shows the extent of the fighting in the area.
The Kupyansk city administration said on Wednesday that "mandatory evacuation" was being enacted in 37 settlements in the territories that were liberated by Ukrainian forces last year.
Russian troops are said to be less than five miles from the city and there are concerns that their gains could impact Kyiv's ongoing counteroffensive.
The forced evacuation was being enacted close to the combat zone due to the "constant shelling and taking into account the security situation" in the area, the head of the district's military administration, Andrii Kanashevich, said in a statement on Telegram.
Kharkiv Regional State Administrator Oleg Synegubov said that following a meeting on Wednesday, it was decided that more than 11,000 people would be evacuated and provided with "temporary housing in safer areas."
"The enemy has significantly increased the shelling of settlements close to the front line and continues to terrorize the civilian population," he said.
Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, told Ukrainska Pravda on Wednesday that Russian forces had created an offensive group consisting of eight "Storm-Z assault units" to take Kupyansk.
He said the Russians were also advancing from Novoselivske, about 16 miles southeast in Luhansk Oblast. They had unsuccessfully tried to cut off Ukrainian troops with a flank attack and encircle some of the brigade's units defending there, he said, adding: "Our soldiers are bravely holding the defense."
Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said in a Telegram post on Wednesday that Russian forces had also been staging "unsuccessful offensives in the Sinkivka district of the Kharkiv region for several days." She said that "the goal of the enemy in the Kupyansk direction is to break through the defense of our troops and go directly" to the city.
Russia has been concentrating troops around Kupyansk since mid-July. Due to its close proximity to the border, the city and areas around Kharkiv Oblast have been under constant attack since the start of the war.
