Below is an excerpt from this Newsweek article that quotes EMN Associate Director Matthew Hoh.

Ukraine ordered on Thursday a mandatory evacuation for some residents of Kupiansk as Russian forces continue shelling the city.

Kupiansk, which is in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine, is described by The Moscow Times as a “key city and rail hub.” Analysts who spoke with Newsweek said Kupiansk could be more important from a strategic viewpoint than the more publicized city of Bakhmut…

“Any place that serves as a cross roads for transportation, whether it is road, rail or ship, is going to matter, particularly long term,” Matthew Hoh, a former U.S. Marine Corps captain and State Department officer, told Newsweek. “Operationally, the potential seizure of Kupiansk is significant as it shows the continual pressure that Russia is exerting along a nearly 600-mile front.”

Hoh added, “Understandably, news of evacuation, along with continued Russian advances, village by village, will be hard on the Ukrainian people.”

Read the full article here.