Dozens of towns in the Kharkiv region, northeastern Ukraine, began evacuating their residents in the face of the advance of the Russian army, which confirmed that it had "improved its positions in the region.
Ukrainian forces recaptured the Kobyansk region and most of the Kharkiv region last September from Russian forces after launching a surprise attack, but Moscow has been moving to achieve progress in the region since that time.
The Ukrainian army acknowledged that the situation is "difficult" in this region, as the army spokesman for the eastern part of the front, Sergei Cherevati, said, "the situation is still difficult, but it is under control."
The head of the military administration of the city of Kupyansk, Andriy Besedin, told Ukrainian state television that the evacuation began following the issuance of a decree signed by local authorities to evacuate 37 towns in the Kupyansk region.
On the Russian side, Vitaly Ganchev, head of the Russian Civil Military Administration for Kharkiv Province, confirmed the progress of the Russian forces, which are now a few kilometers from the city of Kobyansk.
Ganchev pointed to the strategic importance of the road located near the village of Olshany, where the Russian armed forces have recently been able to improve their positions there.
He said that controlling this road will lead to a serious and tangible improvement in logistics, adding, "I am sure that in the near future, the front lines will be prepared in order to launch a comprehensive and large-scale offensive towards Kharkiv."
"As part of the offensive near Kobyansk, the assault divisions of the Western Battle Group have improved their positions along the front edge of the front," the Russian Defense Ministry said.
It is noteworthy that the Russian Ministry of Defense stated last Tuesday that the Russian army took control of 5 other towns in Kharkiv province.
Source: National Iraqi News Agency