Mandatory evacuation of children from Kharkiv Oblast's Kupiansk district has finished after 296 children were rescued from the area constantly targeted by Russian attacks, the regional police said on Nov. 27.
Police, volunteers, and local authorities reportedly carried out the mandatory evacuation of children accompanied by their family members or legal guardians from Nov. 3 to Nov. 26.
They rescued 31 children from Kindrashivka, 182 from the part of Kupiansk on the east bank of the Oskil River, and 83 from Kurylivka, according to the Kharkiv Oblast Police.
"All evacuees were taken to safe places," the police added, without specifying where exactly the children were relocated.
Two more children, aged five and 11, are registered in the Kurylivka community, but the police have yet to establish their whereabouts. According to preliminary data, they have left Kupiansk with their mother of their own accord.
Local authorities began a general evacuation of civilians from the Kupiansk district in August as Russian forces intensified their attacks in the area.
Russia has been concentrating its forces around Kupiansk since mid-July, trying to regain the positions lost during the Ukrainian surprise counteroffensive in Kharkiv Oblast last autumn.
Kupiansk was occupied by Russian forces from Feb. 27 to Sept. 10, 2022.
Alexander Query
(Updated: )
