Evacuation from Kupiansk is becoming more difficult, authorities report

Kupiansk. Photo: Facebook

The process of evacuation from Kupiansk in Kharkiv Oblast is becoming increasingly difficult due to Russian attacks and increased strikes with FPV drones, particularly against those who are evacuating civilians.

Source: Andrii Kanashevych, Head of Kupiansk District Military Administration, on air with Suspilne, a Ukrainian public broadcaster

Details: Emergency workers and police with armoured vehicles are planned to be involved in the evacuation, as Kanashevych said it is no longer possible to carry it out solely with volunteer groups.

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Quote: “Prior to that, volunteers would come to the city of Kupiansk and collect people.

Now it is no longer possible for volunteer groups to carry out such operations.

If anyone asks us for such assistance with evacuation, we will involve the relevant units with the appropriate type of transport.

This indicates that the situation is becoming more complicated; the Russians have significantly increased their attacks and are using everything they have.”

Details: Kanashevych said that guided aerial bombs strike Kupiansk and nearby settlements every day. All settlements in the district along the right bank of the Oskil River are subject to attacks and drone strikes.

Quote: “The main problem is the significant increase in FPV drones, specifically FPV drones on fibre optics. [They attack – ed.] moving targets. We see that they don’t really have a special target, so civilian cars come under fire, as do military vehicles.”

Details: Kanashevych stressed that because of the threat of attacks in Kupiansk and other settlements on the right bank of the Oskil River, it is not always possible to restore the supply of water, gas, or electricity to residents, which has been interrupted due to the attacks.

Quote: “It’s hard to say how they try to live in such conditions. We have the example of the Petropavlivka hromada, which was liberated back in September 2022. Since the liberation, due to the security situation, it has not been possible to restore electricity, water or gas supplies. People have remained there to this day.” [A hromada is an administrative unit designating a village, several villages, or a town, and their adjacent territories – ed.]

Details: It was also noted that approximately 349 people had been killed and three times as many wounded in the Kupiansk district as a result of Russian aggression since September 2022.

Background: In May, it was reported…