KUPIANSK DISTRICT, KHARKIV OBLAST, UKRAINE, March 28 – Currently, Kupiansk district is home to only 34,500 residents, while 135,000 people used to live in the region before the war. Andriy Kanashevych, the head of the Kupiansk district military administration, said this in the National Telethon.

According to him, these are primarily residents of 3 communities – Velykoburlutska, Shevchenkivska and Kupianska. The most populous community is home to about 7,000 people. Before the war, 55,000 people lived in the community.

They are trying to convince the residents of district to leave. He also added that there was some minor damage in Kupiansk after the liberation, but now the Russian army is destroying the city.

During Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Kupiansk and the district became the site of active hostilities. From February-March 2022 to September 2022, the area was under Russian occupation.

Kupiansk direction in Kharkiv Oblast / Map: ISW Interactive Map: Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine

Since its liberation, Kupiansk and the city’s outskirts have been shelled daily with all types of weapons available to the Russians: rockets, mortars, artillery, kamikaze drones, and aerial bombs. The Russian army is attempting to assault Ukrainian positions near the village of Synkivka, 8 km northeast of Kupiansk.

According to Oleh Syniehubov, the head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration, Russian troops continue to storm the positions of Ukrainian defenders in the Kupiansk sector, trying to take advantage of favorable heights and hold Kupiansk as an essential logistics hub. However, despite the concentration of Russian forces, Ukrainians are holding back the onslaught and are not giving up their positions.

He adds that Russia uses all types of weapons to shell the border areas – aircraft, artillery, MLRS, drones, and civilians are being called to evacuate.

Kupiansk, a town in eastern Kharkiv Oblast 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 between Kharkiv and Luhansk regions in Eastern Ukraine.

Gwara’s choice

Constant missile attacks and deserted streets: how Kupiansk lives on the front line. It 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.