KUPYANSK, Ukraine — The government order was clear: Everyone still here should leave.
For weeks, Russia has ramped up its attacks on Kupyansk, trying to win back a city it lost last year when Ukrainian forces retook control after more than six months of Russian occupation.
With Kyiv now focusing its latest counterattack largely in the country’s south, Moscow is trying to gain ground elsewhere — and Ukrainian soldiers positioned in this enclave 25 miles from the Russian border are working urgently to repel their advance.
