Ukraine asks residents to leave dozens of villages near the city of Kobyansk

Local authorities in Ukraine ordered the evacuation of residents from dozens of villages on Tuesday near the completely destroyed northeastern city of Kobyansk, citing a “deteriorating security situation” in the region that has faced intense Russian attacks.

A total of 409 families with 601 children have been asked to leave 27 regions, Oleh Sinyhopov, governor of the northeastern Kharkiv region, wrote in a telegram.

Another official in the affected area later told public radio Sospilen that the list of areas to be evacuated had been expanded to 40.

For months, Russian forces have been attacking and advancing on the city of Kobyansk, seen as a key target in their westward advance across central and eastern Ukraine in the war that has been ongoing for more than three and a half years.

Russian forces initially captured the city in the first weeks of 2018 The February 2022 invasion is widespread Ukraine, but Kyiv forces He regained it later that year.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said last week that Ukrainian forces were defending key front-line areas, including Kubyansk. In recent days there has also been talk of a Ukrainian counter-attack near the town of Dobrobillya further south.

Russian President Vladimir Putin last week told senior officers that Moscow’s forces enjoyed strategic superiority throughout front-line areas. The highest officer of UkraineOleksandr Sirsky estimates that the front line extends for more than 1,200 kilometers.