War in Ukraine: Kyiv ordered the evacuation of civilians from about twenty villages in the Northeast

A new surge of tension in eastern Ukraine. Kyiv on Tuesday ordered the evacuation of 26 villages in the Kharkiv region in the northeast of the country due to repeated attacks by the Russian army in the area. “In view of the current situation, we are carrying out a forced evacuation of the population of the villages of Kindrachevskaya and Kurilovskaya, Kupyansky district,” regional governor Oleg Sinegubov said on social networks, naming the names of 26 settlements where 3,043 people live. , including 279 children.

The Kupyansky district has been under attack by Russian troops for several months. They have made minimal progress there, but still hope to break through Ukraine’s defenses. All of this territory was occupied by Russia at the start of the invasion ordered by Vladimir Putin in February 2022, until a lightning attack by the Ukrainians liberated the region in September of that year, forcing Moscow’s troops into a humiliating retreat.

This Monday evening, Russian bombings injured at least three people in the small eastern Ukrainian town of New York. Five more people were still trapped under the rubble of the damaged buildings on Tuesday, according to the Interior Ministry. The Russian army on Monday evening attacked this city, located in the Donetsk region, using guided bombs, the department said. According to authorities, six three-story buildings and five residential buildings were damaged. New York is located very close to the eastern front line.

Increase in number of explosions

Kyiv and Moscow have stepped up their bombing campaigns in recent weeks, a sign of an escalation in a conflict that has lasted nearly two years. The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) said on Tuesday it noted a 26% increase in the number of civilians killed or injured in attacks in the country in December compared to November.

This figure only applies to cases that the agency can verify. Thus, the real increase is “likely higher,” the HRMMU warned. “The number of civilian casualties fell steadily in 2023, but a wave of attacks from late December to early January interrupted this trend,” mission chief Danielle Bell said, as quoted in the press release. The arrival of very cold weather conditions makes life even more difficult for civilians, the HRMMU noted.