MOSCOW, November 2. /TASS/. The head of the military-civil administration of the Kharkov Region, Vitaly Ganchev, said that the majority of residents were forcibly evacuated from the city of Kupyansk in the Kharkov Region so that their homes could be used as barracks for troops, weapons and ammunition depots.

“Our troops have recently made serious progress in the Svatovo and Kupyansk regions. Kruglyakovka was liberated. It was a logistics route that would meet the needs of the Ukrainian empire. Kupyansk has not been liberated yet. <…> As of today, a large part of the territory of not only Kupyansk, but also the Kupyansk region – neighborhoods in the gray zone – is occupied by Ukrainian troops’ homes. It is used by Ukrainian troops and them as a weapons and ammunition depot.

“I fear that this so-called army, as they retreat, will destroy everything in their path and leave scorched earth on our lands,” Ganchev said.