Ukraine’s northeastern city of Kupiansk has been bombed daily since the end of January, when Russian forces started a new offensive to conquer the industrial Donbas region. Kupiansk, in the Kharkiv region, is key to Russia's desire to control the whole east of Ukraine. Now, an estimated 16,000 people are struggling to keep living in this city with some yearning to leave.
In Photos: Russia Sets Eyes on Ukraine's Railway Hub Kupiansk
- By Yan Boechat
1
Some of the 16,000 people who are still in Kupiansk wait for a mini-bus on a freezing afternoon, Feb. 16, 2023.
2
Smoke rises after the east side of Kupiansk was hit by grad rockets fired by Russian troops, just 20 km away, Feb. 16, 2023.
3
Larissa Polyakova and her father, Ivan Zaika, have lived in a basement for three months since the Russian attacks against Kupiansk intensified, Feb. 17, 2023.
4
Armed soldiers protect the mayor and city hall employees in Kupiansk, Feb. 16, 2023.