Seventy-seven-year-old Lyubov Lobunets fled her home in the frontline Ukrainian city of Kupiansk last August after a Russian explosive struck the building where she lived.
“I was in a five-story building,” she recalled from a displacement center in nearby Kharkiv. “I don’t know if it was a missile or a bomb, but it started a fire. When the flames reached my floor, I was trapped because the door was damaged and I couldn’t get out.”
She credits the Ukrainian military with saving her life. By then, most of Kupiansk’s prewar population of 27,000 had already left. “A few shops were still open in the months before I left,” she said, “but in that final month, almost everything shut down. All the social services had been evacuated.”
While attention has focused on the Donbas region further south, including cities like Pokrovsk, Kupiansk—located in the northern Kharkiv region on the Oskil River—has received less notice. Yet its gradual decline over more than two years reflects the fate of many Ukrainian frontline cities, worn down by Russia’s relentless violence.
The small city center market, once selling dried fish, honey, and vegetables, is gone. Hillside homes lie in ruins from shelling, and the fields outside the city along the river are scarred with craters.
Lobunets explained why she was hesitant to leave earlier. “I worked as a nurse, and my pension is very small,” she said. “I was worried about where I would live and how I would manage.”
Even recently, some of her friends stayed behind despite a mandatory evacuation order and street fighting on the outskirts of Kupiansk. Most of those remaining in the city center are now gathered near the sports stadium.
“Some friends called to say they had climbed to the top floor to get a mobile signal,” Lobunets shared. “They could see destroyed buildings and fires all over the city.”
Kupiansk was occupied in the early months of Russia’s full-scale invasion but was liberated in September 2022, largely intact as Russian forces retreated toward the border. The devastation came later, as Moscow tried to recapture the city, pounding it with airstrikes and artillery. Russian forces have since advanced, partially encircling the city, with troops now positioned on the west bank of the Oskil River.
When The Guardian interviewed Kupiansk’s mayor, Andrii Besedin, two years ago, he was in his city center office. Now based in Kharkiv, he hasn’t been able to reach the city since June.
“The situation in Kupiansk is extremely difficult. It’s on the front line of combat. The Russians are trying to take the city and make efforts every day. They’ve raised flags at the edge of the city and claimed they’ve captured it, but it remains under Ukrainian control,” he said.
He added that no buildings are undamaged, and nothing functions—there is no gas or electricity. “We estimate just over 600 people remain on the west side of the Oskil River,” Besedin noted. “Evacuations happen daily, and the evacuation zone has been expanded because Russian units are on the right bank, which our military is trying to push back.”
Once declared a “city of heroes” by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Kupiansk has seen fierce and brutal fighting, with both Russian attacks and Ukrainian defense intensifying.
Although Russian forces have struggled to cross the Oskil River—which ranges from 10 to 30 meters wide in this area—with their armored vehicles, some have managed to reach the western side.Ukrainian forces report that Russian troops are attempting to cross the river by crawling through disused gas pipes, which are one metre in diameter.
On the Ukrainian side, brigades in the area have started using Vampire hexacopter drones to drop razor-sharp nets. These nets entangle Russian infantry and vehicles, which struggle to see them and find it even harder to escape.
The widespread use of drones by both sides has made movement in the city and surrounding countryside dangerous, especially for vehicles.
In his command bunker, Captain “Caesar” and soldiers of the 15th Brigade, who are fighting just north of the city, examined live drone footage of the woods and fields on the right bank of the river, searching for Russian activity. They directed a drone operator to hover over a dense area of scrub and fallen birch trees where they suspected a Russian position might be hidden. “Look! Here. Look,” they said as several soldiers gathered around the screen. “Is this the entrance to a bunker?” They peered closely, looking for any signs of movement but found none.
“When we arrived here, our brigade took over positions that the previous brigade had lost,” Caesar explained. “Since we’ve been here, we haven’t lost any ground and are now making small gains, pushing back.”
“The Russians began using the gas pipe to cross the river at the end of July, but now all the exits from the pipes are under our control. We’ve also seen attempts to bring vehicles across the river, but every time they try to build a bridge, we sink them.”
The current Russian tactic involves sending small groups of infantry across to areas with dense woodland cover, where they meet and assemble with others. “We’re talking about very small groups,” Caesar noted, “no more than three people, and they use gathering points.” He indicated a large wooded area on a tablet. “We know they’re trying to gather here opposite our sector, with at least a hundred in this wood out of 5,000 in all directions. But they’re always bringing in replacements.”
The brigade believes some of the soldiers are from Cuba. “In intercepted communications, we hear them referred to as ‘Ethiopians,’ but we think they’re from Cuba,” Caesar said, referencing a well-known Russian crime film where a black criminal is called “Ethiopian” as a racist slur.
Caesar, whose brigade has fought in Zaporizhia and in intense battles in the Donbas, sees no end to the conflict. “After our big counter-offensive failed in 2023, it became clear that this war is going nowhere for either side. Our job now is to protect at all times,” he stated.
“If we lose, it would be a major strategic failure, as Kupiansk is a logistics and railway hub. It could be a turning point. The good news is that the high ground around Kupiansk gives us a clear view across much of the sector, but there’s no sign that the Russians are slowing down. They’ll keep trying because their soldiers are more afraid of their commanders than of us.””They are more afraid of their own side than they are of us.”
Caesar points to a road on a map where they’ve set up nets, referred to as MZP, which act as hard-to-see barriers. “The Russians attempted to attack along this road using motorbikes, and we used the nets to stop them,” he explained, displaying drone footage of a Russian motorcyclist in the distance. The bike crashes, and both the rider and the machine become entangled in the trap.
In Kharkiv, Mayor Besedin shares his thoughts on the fate of his hometown. “Looking at the city, there’s no activity. No life left. It’s nearly destroyed. At least 10,000 people have relocated to Kharkiv, which shows that the heart of our lives and the city remains here. We’re holding on until victory comes.”
(Note: Your browser doesn’t support HTML5 video. A link to the video is provided instead.)
Ukrainian drone footage captures a Russian motorcyclist caught in a net – video.
Frequently Asked Questions
Of course Here is a list of FAQs about the decline of Kupiansk and similar frontline cities in Ukraine designed to be clear concise and natural
General Beginner Questions
1 Whats happening in Kupiansk
Kupiansk a city in eastern Ukraine has seen a severe decline due to its position on the front line of the war Constant shelling destruction of infrastructure and the danger to life have caused most residents to flee leaving it a nearempty shell of its former self
2 Why is Kupiansks situation described as a gradual decline
It wasnt destroyed in a single battle Instead the city has been slowly worn down over months of ongoing conflict with daily attacks making life impossible and steadily depopulating the area
3 What does it mean that life has all but vanished
This phrase means that while a very small number of people might still be there the normal everyday life of a cityschools shops businesses traffic and community gatheringshas completely disappeared
4 Why dont people just leave if its so dangerous
Many have Those who remain are often elderly ill lack resources to relocate or have such deep ties to their homes that they feel they have nowhere else to go despite the extreme risks
Deeper Advanced Questions
5 How does Kupiansks fate mirror other Ukrainian cities
Its story is tragically common Cities like Bakhmut Avdiivka and Mariupol have followed a similar pattern intense fighting leads to mass destruction mass exodus of civilians and the city becoming a symbol of loss and resilience rather than a living community
6 What are the longterm consequences of this kind of urban decline
The consequences are devastating a lost generation displaced immense psychological trauma the complete loss of local economy and culture and a reconstruction cost that will take decades and billions of dollars
7 Beyond the immediate shelling what causes a city to become unlivable
The destruction of critical infrastructure is key When power plants water systems sewage treatment hospitals and communication networks are destroyed a city can no longer support human life even if the shelling were to stop temporarily
