Ukraine mulling mandatory evacuations for children in eastern Kupiansk district

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) — Ukraine is considering whether to forcibly evacuate child residents of the country's eastern Kupiansk district, a local authority said Friday.

"We are considering the issues of forced evacuation of children from dangerous areas, including from the city of Kupiansk," said Oleh Synyehubov, who heads the local military administration in the Kharkiv region, where Kupiansk is located.

"According to our data, 523 children remained there," Synyehubov said on Telegram.

The area has been the site of the fierce fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces in recent days. On Wednesday, Synyehubov reported that over 11,000 people were evacuated amid security risks.

On Thursday, Ukrainian media outlets reported that local authorities in Kupiansk issued an order for residents of all ages to evacuate areas near the combat zone.