(Reuters) – Local authorities in Ukraine on Tuesday ordered the evacuation of families from dozens of villages near the nearly destroyed northeastern city of Kupiansk, citing the “worsening security situation” in a region that has faced intense Russian attacks.
Oleh Syniehubov, governor of the northeastern Kharkiv region, wrote on Telegram that a total of 409 families with 601 children were asked to leave 27 localities.
Another official from the affected area later told public broadcaster Suspilne that the list of localities that families must evacuate had been expanded to 40.
For months, Russian forces have been attacking and advancing toward the city of Kupiansk, seen as a key objective in their push westward through central and eastern Ukraine in the war that has lasted more than three and a half years.
The city was initially taken by Russian forces in the first weeks of the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, but was recaptured by kyiv forces later that year.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said last week that Ukrainian forces were defending key frontline areas, including Kupiansk. He also spoke in recent days of a Ukrainian counteroffensive near the town of Dobropillia, further south.
Russian President Vladimir Putin told senior officials last week that Moscow’s forces had the strategic advantage in all frontline areas. Ukraine’s top official, Oleksander Syrskyi, estimates that the front line stretches 1,200 kilometers (775 miles).
(Reporting by Ron Popeski; Editing by Sonali Paul)