Russia destroys 95% of Ukraine’s Kupiansk, city faces critical situation — local official

Andrii Besedin, head of the Kupiansk city military administration, shared the information on Hromadske Radio.

According to him, Russian troops are using all available weapons against the city, while FPV drones lie in wait on the approaches to Kupiansk, striking supply routes. This complicates the evacuation of civilians and the delivery of humanitarian aid, and makes it impossible to repair gas, electricity, or water systems.

“Every day the city is destroyed by guided aerial bombs. As of today, unfortunately, over 95% of the city’s buildings have been destroyed or damaged. But the most important and terrifying thing is that people are injured and killed every day,” Andrii Besedin said.

In the first nine days of September, Russian forces carried out 1,100 strikes on settlements in the Kupiansk community, including 36 with guided aerial bombs — two of them weighing 1.5 tons. The attacks left three residents dead and 13 wounded. On September 9 alone, four guided bombs hit Kupiansk, injuring one person, according to the head of the city military administration.

He emphasized that under these conditions, evacuation is the only way to save lives.

Earlier, officials reported that all children had been evacuated from Kupiansk. However, on September 7, a six-year-old girl was wounded in Russian shelling and admitted to intensive care in critical condition. According to city military administration head Andrii Besedin, her condition has since stabilized to moderate. When asked how the child was in Kupiansk despite the evacuation, Besedin explained that she is originally from a neighboring community and that her family had previously been evacuated from the district. Authorities are now investigating how the girl ended up back in the combat zone.

At present, 1,785 people remain in the Kupiansk community, 780 of them living on the city’s right bank. Andrii Besedin notes that the pace of evacuation is slow. For many, the only reason to leave is the destruction of their homes.

Despite the lack of electricity, the city had previously set up numerous “resilience points” equipped with generators and essential supplies. According to the head of the military administration, supplies are running out. The generators are still operational because the military is assisting in the delivery of fuel. Other materials, such as firewood for heating or materials to repair damaged housing, cannot be brought into the city, Besedin emphasized.