The residents of Kupyansk and the suburbs are being evacuated due to the advance of the Russian units towards the city. The Ukrainian army is trying to push them back and cut off their path. What is happening there. DW report:
The artillerymen of the 15th Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine “Kara-Dag“ are among the units trying to stop the Russian advance towards Kupyansk. The soldiers have at their disposal a Slovak artillery installation Zuzana 2, well hidden with camouflage in a wooded area. The sky above the position is guarded by an armed detachment.
Directions of the Russian offensive
“We get up early and go to bed early, because the day is short“, says the commander with the call sign “Sailor”. The 155-millimeter gun uses fragmentation shells. They can hit manpower within a radius of 50-100 meters. “This is how we stop the enemy's offensive and help our infantry. We were also in the infantry and we know what it's like when artillery covers you“, says the military.
The brigade is defending the front line north of Kupyansk. In the village of Kondrashovka, already occupied by the Russians, the Russian army is trying to recruit infantry for an attack on the city, says the deputy commander of the unit with the call sign “Major“. That is why Ukrainian artillery is attacking the approaches to Kupyansk to prevent Russian units from reaching the city.
Ukrainian positions are attacked by the Russians with drones
“The Russians are using the following tactic - first they send a large number of FPV drones, and then they also put into operation those with an optical link for control, another military man with the call sign “Trafka“ tells DW. His team is currently trying to stop the Russian infantry, which, according to the commander's observations, has become significantly more numerous in the Kupyansk area. In addition, his unit destroyed the crossing of the Oskol River, which divides Kupyansk, so that Russian units could not transfer equipment from the left to the right bank.
The river is a natural obstacle for the Russians advancing towards Kupyansk. Alexander Bukatar, commander of the 15th Brigade "Kara-Dag", told DW that the Russians are crossing the river in rubber boats. In order not to row with oars, they use ropes stretched between the two banks, with which they pull the boats, he explained.
Small groups of Russians are also moving overland to the villages, where the units are regrouping and preparing for an attack. Bukatar points to two factors that favor the Russian offensive in this section of the front: the long front line and the shortage of personnel among the Ukrainians. However, the commander does not believe that the Russians will be able to take Kupyansk completely.
Kupyansk is important for the defense not only of the Kharkiv region, but also of the Donetsk region, Bukatar adds. “If Kupyansk falls, the front will shift to Borovaya. This is a problem because after Borovaya comes the Donetsk direction, that is, the front line will be extended, which the Ukrainians will have to defend with the same personnel“.
Russians in Kupyansk
Since the end of last week, it has been impossible to enter or leave Kupyansk due to the presence of Russians, whom the Ukrainian military is trying to push out. Evacuation groups can no longer enter there. But residents of Kupyansk, frightened by the appearance of the Russians, are leaving the city on their own.
Among them is 75-year-old Valentina, who decided to evacuate after two Russian soldiers burst into her yard, one of whom waved a grenade under her nose. They wanted to know where the other Russians were in the city, and then asked where the Ukrainian soldiers were hiding. "It was obvious that this Russian was well-fed," the woman says.
Valentina explains that for the past four months, the phones in the city have not worked and there is no electricity, water, or gas. The shops are also not open. "The bombings are terrible, everything is destroyed, burned to the ground," the elderly woman says. “Drones are constantly circling in the sky and bombing... Many people are dying.“
Many want to be evacuated
Requests for evacuation have increased sharply recently and not all of them can be fulfilled. Over a hundred requests are received daily at the humanitarian coordination center, its head Bogdan Yakhno told DW. “Many people, unfortunately, wait until the last moment. And when they decide to do it themselves, they can become easy prey for Russian drones,“ Yakhno added.