KHARKIV OBLAST, UKRAINE, Jan 16 — Considering the security situation, the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration (Kharkiv RMA) imposes a mandatory evacuation of the population from the Kindrashivska and Kurylivska hromadas of Kupiansk district.

These 27 settlements are home to 3,043 people, including 279 children.

Kindrashivka and Kurylivka near Kupiansk in Kharkiv Oblast / Map: deepstatemap.live

International humanitarian organizations are planning to provide all evacuees with housing and support. Kharkiv RMA urges residents of the communities to take responsibility for their own lives and their children’s lives.

Read more: Russian Army Attempted to Conduct a Ground Assault Four Times on the Kupiansk Axis

According to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Russian forces may intensify their efforts to capture Kupiansk in Kharkiv region in the coming weeks and have a grouping of forces in the area that appears less degraded than the units responsible for offensives elsewhere in Ukraine’s East.

Russia could deploy new forces to the Kupiansk area at a rate roughly equal to Russian losses. However, these elements will likely be poorly trained Storm-Z and Storm-V assault units.

More from Gwara

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.