04:43Kupyansk residents were seen evacuating from the city on Friday after local authorities declared the forced evacuation on Tuesday amid a worsening military situation.
Footage shows evacuated people arriving to Kharkov by bus, filling in documents, getting necessity kits, eating, and resting at the shelter. Destroyed and damaged buildings and empty streets with 'Free evacuation' banners could be seen in the streets of Kupyansk.
"There was no electricity or gas, they said that it would not happen. And they said that it is very dangerous. Very dangerous. And they were shooting. Every night, day, it flew through the house. Houses were burning, cafes were burning. Very scary. I have shivers when I am thinking about that period," shared Zinaida Shelistova, an evacuated resident.
Another Kupyansk local Nadezhda shared that she was accommodated in a room with her mother.
"[We have] Food, drinks, everything, attention," talking about the evacuation.
Answering a journalist's question about what an evacuee felt leaving her house, Lydia Alekseevna said that "nothing but grief, tears, mental pain, and heartache."
"I was born here, I was baptised here, I will live here. This is my land, my city, my people, my dogs. Do you understand? Why should I go? Why? I believe in our guys. And that's all. I believe in our guys. I love Ukraine," proclaimed Lida Ivanovna, a Kupyansk resident staying in the town.
According to the head of the civil-military administration of Kharkov region, Vitaly Ganchev, Russian troops have taken fire control over the entire part of the Kupyansk district along the Oskol River.
At the same time he announced on Sunday that Ukrainian authorities stopped delivering humanitarian aid to Kupyansk.
On October 15, Oleg Sinegubov, the chief of Kharkov's regional military administration, declared the forced evacuation of all residents living in Kupyansk, as well as the settlements of Kondrashovka, Kurilovka, and Borovaya following continuous military actions in the territories. Around 10,000 individuals in total must be evacuated, according to media reports.
Before the conflict, the city had a population of over 55,000 and was a major transport hub, with several highways and five railway lines running through it. Kupyansk was reportedly seized by Moscow around February 2022, and Ukrainian forces allegedly reclaimed it around six months later.
The evacuation comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky presented his new 'Victory Plan' against Russia to the European Council summit on Thursday which he said depended on the 'will of our partners'.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.
'Grief, tears and heartache' - Residents leave Kupyansk following evacuation orders as Russian forces reportedly press closer to city
Kupyansk residents were seen evacuating from the city on Friday after local authorities declared the forced evacuation on Tuesday amid a worsening military situation.
Footage shows evacuated people arriving to Kharkov by bus, filling in documents, getting necessity kits, eating, and resting at the shelter. Destroyed and damaged buildings and empty streets with 'Free evacuation' banners could be seen in the streets of Kupyansk.
"There was no electricity or gas, they said that it would not happen. And they said that it is very dangerous. Very dangerous. And they were shooting. Every night, day, it flew through the house. Houses were burning, cafes were burning. Very scary. I have shivers when I am thinking about that period," shared Zinaida Shelistova, an evacuated resident.
Another Kupyansk local Nadezhda shared that she was accommodated in a room with her mother.
"[We have] Food, drinks, everything, attention," talking about the evacuation.
Answering a journalist's question about what an evacuee felt leaving her house, Lydia Alekseevna said that "nothing but grief, tears, mental pain, and heartache."
"I was born here, I was baptised here, I will live here. This is my land, my city, my people, my dogs. Do you understand? Why should I go? Why? I believe in our guys. And that's all. I believe in our guys. I love Ukraine," proclaimed Lida Ivanovna, a Kupyansk resident staying in the town.
According to the head of the civil-military administration of Kharkov region, Vitaly Ganchev, Russian troops have taken fire control over the entire part of the Kupyansk district along the Oskol River.
At the same time he announced on Sunday that Ukrainian authorities stopped delivering humanitarian aid to Kupyansk.
On October 15, Oleg Sinegubov, the chief of Kharkov's regional military administration, declared the forced evacuation of all residents living in Kupyansk, as well as the settlements of Kondrashovka, Kurilovka, and Borovaya following continuous military actions in the territories. Around 10,000 individuals in total must be evacuated, according to media reports.
Before the conflict, the city had a population of over 55,000 and was a major transport hub, with several highways and five railway lines running through it. Kupyansk was reportedly seized by Moscow around February 2022, and Ukrainian forces allegedly reclaimed it around six months later.
The evacuation comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky presented his new 'Victory Plan' against Russia to the European Council summit on Thursday which he said depended on the 'will of our partners'.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.
Kupyansk residents were seen evacuating from the city on Friday after local authorities declared the forced evacuation on Tuesday amid a worsening military situation.
Footage shows evacuated people arriving to Kharkov by bus, filling in documents, getting necessity kits, eating, and resting at the shelter. Destroyed and damaged buildings and empty streets with 'Free evacuation' banners could be seen in the streets of Kupyansk.
"There was no electricity or gas, they said that it would not happen. And they said that it is very dangerous. Very dangerous. And they were shooting. Every night, day, it flew through the house. Houses were burning, cafes were burning. Very scary. I have shivers when I am thinking about that period," shared Zinaida Shelistova, an evacuated resident.
Another Kupyansk local Nadezhda shared that she was accommodated in a room with her mother.
"[We have] Food, drinks, everything, attention," talking about the evacuation.
Answering a journalist's question about what an evacuee felt leaving her house, Lydia Alekseevna said that "nothing but grief, tears, mental pain, and heartache."
"I was born here, I was baptised here, I will live here. This is my land, my city, my people, my dogs. Do you understand? Why should I go? Why? I believe in our guys. And that's all. I believe in our guys. I love Ukraine," proclaimed Lida Ivanovna, a Kupyansk resident staying in the town.
According to the head of the civil-military administration of Kharkov region, Vitaly Ganchev, Russian troops have taken fire control over the entire part of the Kupyansk district along the Oskol River.
At the same time he announced on Sunday that Ukrainian authorities stopped delivering humanitarian aid to Kupyansk.
On October 15, Oleg Sinegubov, the chief of Kharkov's regional military administration, declared the forced evacuation of all residents living in Kupyansk, as well as the settlements of Kondrashovka, Kurilovka, and Borovaya following continuous military actions in the territories. Around 10,000 individuals in total must be evacuated, according to media reports.
Before the conflict, the city had a population of over 55,000 and was a major transport hub, with several highways and five railway lines running through it. Kupyansk was reportedly seized by Moscow around February 2022, and Ukrainian forces allegedly reclaimed it around six months later.
The evacuation comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky presented his new 'Victory Plan' against Russia to the European Council summit on Thursday which he said depended on the 'will of our partners'.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.