Constant Missile Attacks and Empty Streets: How Kupiansk Lives on the Front Line

Денис Глушко - 21 April 2023 | 19:12

Kupiansk in Kharkiv Oblast is 10-15 km/ 6–9 miles from the front line and 40 km/ 25 miles from the border with Russia. The city was severely damaged at the beginning of the full-scale invasion and during the battle for its liberation in September 2022. Today, it is constantly under fire from Russian MLRS and S-300 systems.

Map of the hostilities in Kharkiv Oblast as of April 20, 2023. It is just 10 km from Kupiansk to the Russian army-controlled territory / Image: deepstatemap.live

In March 2023, Vadym Skibitskyi, Deputy Chief of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, reported that Russian troops were planning an offensive in the Kupiansk direction. Capturing the city and its surroundings would allow the occupiers to organize the supply of weapons by railways.

A car burned burnt off at the downtown. April 16, 2023. Kupiansk, Kharkiv Oblast / Denys Glushko for Gwara Media

The city centre looks deserted: supermarkets, pharmacies, residential buildings, and the market are ruins. Only a few locals and soldiers came to the church to bless Easter baskets that day. Sometimes you hear explosions, either somewhere outside the city or very close.

A pharmacy in the city centre. This is what most public places look like / April 16, 2023. Kupiansk, Kharkiv Oblast / Denys Glushko for Gwara Media

The city was under Russian occupation for almost 6 months, from February to September 2022. This could not but affect the residents. They are eager to talk about Kupiansk and life under Russian control but without photos or cameras.

Destroyed market. April 16, 2023. Kupiansk, Kharkiv Oblast / Denys Glushko for Gwara Media

They say that the journalists will leave soon, and how will the locals live if they are again under occupation?

The sign on the billboard “Kupiansk is Ukraine” / April 16, 2023. Kupiansk, Kharkiv Oblast / Denys Glushko for Gwara Media

Passing the sign “Kupyansk is Ukraine” on Kharkivska Street, we met Halyna, a child of World War II. With tears in her eyes, she told how she was reliving the horrors of the invasion for the second time.

Destroyed house at Kupiansk downtown. April 16, 2023. Kupiansk, Kharkiv Oblast / Photo: Denys Glushko for Gwara Media

“After the Russians were kicked out of here, they started shelling us, it was very difficult. We had a nice town, but they destroyed everything. We stood here next to each other at the checkpoint. I told them, guys, why did you come to us? You have brought only death, you came to kill us. How should we live now? They smashed everything, destroyed factories and farms, and mined the fields,” Halyna sadly emphasized.

The woman adds that the windows of her house are broken, the fence is broken, and the house barely stands.

An apartment building with almost no windows. Only a few flats are living here. April 16, 2023. Kupiansk, Kharkiv Oblast / Denys Glushko for Gwara Media
When there are no people, many birds live in the houses. April 16, 2023. Kupiansk, Kharkiv Oblast / Denys Glushko for Gwara Media

“I wish the war would end, no matter how hard it is, but at least it would be quiet and calm… We get humanitarian aid, and volunteers go around the streets, offer it to those who need it,” she says.

When asked why locals didn’t leave the city of Kupiansk, considering the possibility of evacuation, she replies: “We need money to go there, with what to carry! And in general, this is a home that she does not want to leave. Halyna has lived here all her life.

The icon is the only thing left in the destroyed building next to the Machine Building Plant. April 16, 2023. Kupiansk, Ukraine, Kharkiv Oblast / Denys Glushko for Gwara Media

The significant destruction of shopping centres, markets, and supermarkets caused another problem: unemployment. We heard from several residents that there is no work in the area, even for those who stayed.

The empty streets of Kupiansk, where you can see a few pedestrians. Locals mostly move around by bike. April 16, 2023. Ukraine, Kupiansk, Kharkiv Oblast / Denys Glushko for Gwara Media

“Now Kupiansk is home to 11,000 residents (before the war, the city’s population was 28,000 – ed.). With the help of the regional organization of the International Red Cross and other charitable organizations, evacuation from the city is ongoing. Still, unfortunately, these are rare cases,” says Andriy Besedin, head of the Kupiansk city military administration.

Kupiansk is constantly under fire from Russian MLRS and S-300 systems. There were several explosions at our eyes. April 16, 2023. Kupiansk, Kharkiv Oblast / Denys Glushko for Gwara Media

Life under constant shelling

– The shelling continues every day. Only the intensity changes: it increases and decreases. The population heeds the advice not to visit crowded places and cemeteries where sappers continue to work.

Information about cost-free evacuation from the town to Kharkiv, other regions and abroad is posted at bus stops and near shops. Kupiansk, Kharkiv Oblast, April 16, 2023 / Photo: Denys Glushko for Gwara Media

– We know that children and people with disabilities are being evacuated from the communities in the district. What is the situation in Kupiansk?

– Together with the social protection department, we work individually with parents and people with limited mobility, explaining the evacuation algorithm, where people will be taken, what social services they will receive, etc. Last week, we evacuated 18 children and 13 adults to a sanatorium in Rivne region. These are large families.

the city of Kupiansk
All that remained of the houses were the walls. April 16, 2023. Kupiansk, Kharkiv Oblast / Denys Glushko for Gwara Media

– Does the city continue to receive humanitarian aid, and do the residents continue to get food packages? We heard from one of the locals that they sometimes receive expired food. Are there any problems with this?

– We are fully provided with household kits thanks to international organizations and the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration. Each resident receives two monthly food packages, which is more than enough. And the quality of these food packages is high. There have been no requests to me personally.

Ukraine Kupiansk
Presumably, this is the remnant of a Russian missile near a residential building. April 16, 2023. Kupiansk, Kharkiv Oblast / Denys Glushko for Gwara Media

World Central Kitchen and Peaceful Sky Kharkiv help us with a toll-free hotline. They cook for numerous residents every day. The Howard Buffett Foundation also provides food packages. The residents of Kupiansk also receive hygiene kits, although there are problems with this. There is a certain shortage, but we are working to resolve the issue. We have enough construction materials: OSB boards, nails and boards…

Kupiansk Ukraine
Public transport are operating within Kupiansk. April 16, 2023. Kupiansk, Kharkiv Oblast / Denys Glushko for Gwara Media

– We noticed that buses run in the streets of Kupiansk. How is transportation organized within the city and between communities?

Indeed, regular buses are operating within Kupiansk. Kharkiv is reachable both by bus and by railway. Today, an electric train runs to Osynove station (3 km from Kupiansk-Vuzlovyy station – ed.), because it cannot pass through the destroyed bridge. In general, there are no difficulties with transportation.

Kupiansk
Destroyed college of motor transport. April 16, 2023. Kupiansk, Kharkiv Oblast / Denys Glushko for Gwara Media
Kupiansk
The machine plant suffered serious missile attacks and is now standing in ruins. It has been operating since 1885. April 16, 2023. Kupiansk, Kharkiv Oblast / Denys Glushko for Gwara Media
city of Kupiansk
The machine plant suffered serious missile attacks and is now standing in ruins. April 16, 2023. Kupiansk, Kharkiv Oblast / Denys Glushko for Gwara Media
Kupiansk
The machine plant suffered serious missile attacks and is now standing in ruins. April 16, 2023. Kupiansk, Kharkiv Oblast / Denys Glushko for Gwara Media

Gwara Media keeps telling stories from the liberated towns and villages of Kharkiv Oblast and their recovery.

  • Dvorichna: a village without any inhabitants. The village looks abandoned. The few remaining locals are constantly hiding in basements to survive. In fact, every day the occupants are shelling the community with all possible types of weapons: rockets, artillery, and cassette ammunition.
  • Staryi Saltiv. Stories from a scarred village in Kharkiv Oblast. The village was captured immediately after the start of the full-scale invasion. It was liberated on May 4. Residents who survived all the difficulties and realities of life under occupation still remain here.
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