KHARKIV, UKRAINE, Dec 12 — Currently, up to 300 children live in the communities close to the front line. Kharkiv Regional Military Administration is considering extending the forced evacuation of settlements close to the front line in Kupiansk district. Kharkiv Regional Military Administration head Oleh Syniehubov, told during a telethon.

“Two areas remain the most dangerous in the region: the Lyman direction in Izium district. And the Kupiansk direction, where the adversary tries to conduct more active offensive actions. We are currently considering the issue of extending the forced evacuation,” the statement said.

Read also: Constant missile attacks and empty streets: how Kupiansk lives on the front line.

According to ISW (Institute for the study of war), Kremlin likely aimed to occupy Avdiivka and Kupiansk before elections in March 2024.

Russian dictator probably tasked the Russian military with capturing Avdiivka, and possibly Kupiansk, before the March 2024 elections, and the exhibition of the military’s support for Putin’s candidacy is possibly meant as a hedging strategy should the Russian military be unable to meet these given deadlines.

During November 3-26, 296 children were evacuated from the dangerous territory. Two more children are on the list in the Kurylivska community: born in 2012 and 2018. However, there are no children at their addresses. 

Kupiansk, a town with a pre-war population of about 30,000 people, was occupied from late February till September 2022. The city is a railway and road hub in eastern Ukraine between Kharkiv and Luhansk regions.

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Russian army attacked Kupiansk-Vuzlovyi with an aerial bomb. On the evening of December 11, the Russian troops shelled Kupiansk-Vuzlovyi. The attack with an aerial bomb damaged a residential apartment. They have probably used a precision-guided bomb, KAB-500.