MOSCOW, August 10. /TASS/. Ukraine’s armed forces are preparing to defend Kupyansk and a number of population centers in the Kharkov Region subject to the Kiev regime’s decree on a forced evacuation of civilians, the head of the region’s military-civilian administration said.

"According to our information, they are getting ready indeed," Vitaly Ganchev told Channel One, replying to a question as to whether the Ukrainian side was preparing Kupyansk and other population centers in the Kharkov Region for defense. "Because this evacuation precisely means that it is necessary to remove as many civilians from there as possible so they won’t be able to register troop movements, including those of Western mercenaries, or the relocation of hardware," he explained.

According to Ganchev, it is initially planned to accommodate the civilians in other districts of the Kharkov Region. "For starters, this is the Kharkov Region itself, only farther from the line of engagement, and then there is information that they will be evacuated to western regions," he noted.

Earlier, the local Kharkov Today news outlet reported that authorities in the Kharkov Region’s Kupyansk District had announced a compulsory evacuation of residents to the country’s safe regions. On August 9, head of the Kharkov Regional Military Administration Oleg Sinegubov said that the authorities were considering the possibility of announcing a mandatory evacuation for over 11,000 people from the frontline areas of the Kupyansk District.

Over the past several days, the Russian Defense Ministry has been reporting offensive actions by assault teams from Russia’s Battlegroup West in the Kupyansk area. According to Ganchev, Russian forces have taken control of five settlements in the past few days.