MOSCOW, January 23. /TASS/. Russian forces control about 11 settlements in the Kharkov region on the border with the Lugansk People's Republic (LPR), the head of the region's military-civilian administration, Vitaly Ganchev, said on Monday.

"Literally about 11 settlements in the gray zone <...> on the border with the Lugansk People's Republic, which are not now under the control of Ukrainian armed units. People who could not physically leave are living there. Old people, pensioners. <...> About 500-600 people, the military-civilian administration is providing assistance. We bring food," Ganchev told the Rossiya-24 TV channel.

"These settlements are under our control," he said.

About 30,000 residents have remained in the Kiev-controlled Kupyansk district after the evacuation, Ganchev said, adding that he could not give an exact figure, since calculations are difficult now. Earlier reports said that about 70,000 to 80,000 residents of the Kharkov region had left for the Russian territory.