August 10, 2023 - Russia-Ukraine news

Local authorities around the Ukrainian city of Kupyansk in Kharkiv region have issued a mandatory evacuation order for the city and surrounding areas due to intense Russian shelling of the area.

Kupyansk was one of several cities and towns liberated last September in a lightning Ukrainian offensive, but in recent weeks Russia has stepped up its efforts to capture the city for a second time.

The order says that the mandatory evacuation has been announced for the residents of the city, as well as of Zaoskilya, which lies on the east bank of the Oskil River.

In recent weeks, Russian forces have intensified attempts to break through Ukrainian front lines east of the Oskil river and have increased the frequency of air strikes and artillery barrages against settlements on both sides of the river.

The order says that "taking into account the constant shelling...and the security situation in the territory of Kupyan district," mandatory evacuation is also required of a number of settlements to the north and east of the city where some civilians are still living.

The Russian Investigative Committee detained the technical director of the Piro-Ross company on Thursday, after a massive explosion at the company's plant in Sergiev Posad on Wednesday.

Investigators also searched the premises of the Piro-Ross company.

“Documents relevant to the investigation, including job descriptions of employees, were confiscated,” the statement said.

As of Thursday morning, 12 people remain missing, 60 victims have been treated, and one woman died in hospital, according to authorities. Rescuers are continuing to search the rubble.

"Thus, at the moment, the fate of 12 people who are considered missing is being established," according to an official of the Investigative Committee, Olga Vradiy.

Moscow region authorities have rejected suggestions that a drone attack was responsible for the explosion.

The plant is a developer and manufacturer for optical and optoelectronic devices for the Russian military, law enforcement agencies, industry and healthcare.

Poland is planning to move around 10,000 troops to the border with Belarus to support the border guard, Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said.

In an interview on Polish National Radio, Blaszczak said whilst 10,000 soldiers will be on the border, four thousand will directly support the border guard and the remaining 6,000 will be in reserve.

“Everything that is happening in Belarus is coordinated with the actions of Russia," said Blaszczak.

Some background: Tensions have been mounting on the Belarus-Poland border since a number of Wagner fighters were stationed in Belarus following the fallout from Yevgeny Prigozhin's aborted mutiny in June.

Belarus' Defense Ministry announced last month that its forces will hold joint military exercises with Wagner fighters near the border with Poland, a NATO member.

Last week, Poland accused Belarus of violating its airspace, after two Belarusian helicopters allegedly crossed into Polish territory during training exercises. The Belarusian defense ministry denied the accusation.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has also discussed plans for Russia to build up forces on its western borders, citing Poland's decision.

The Russian Defense Ministry claimed its forces have captured Ukrainian positions and observation points around the village of Vilshana, north-east of Kupyansk in Kharkiv region.

It said that assault groups of the 6th Combined Arms Army defeated up to a platoon of infantry in the area (between 20-50 soldiers), where Russian forces have been trying to take ground for several weeks.

The Defense Ministry said Ukrainian counterattacks had been rebuffed.

It also claimed that a Ukrainian attack further south, in Novoselivske, had been thwarted and that Ukrainian mortar positions and other equipment had been destroyed.

CNN is unable to confirm the majority of battlefield reports from either side.

A contested region: Kupyansk was captured by Russia in the early stages of its invasion but was liberated last September.

In July a Ukrainian official said Russia had amassed tens of thousands of troops and hundreds of tanks in the area.

Two civilians were injured overnight following Russian shelling in a village north of Kupyansk, a Ukrainian military official said Thursday, as Moscow's forces intensify attacks in the area.

Oleh Syniehubov, head of the Kharkiv regional military administration, said the casualties were reported in the village of Kindrashivka.

Meanwhile, the city council building in Kupyansk was hit in an airstrike, he said.

Ukrainian defenses repelled Russian attacks in the areas of Sinkivka and Ivanivka, northeast of Kupyansk, he added.

Some context: Ukrainian authorities this week urged Kupyansk residents to evacuate children and those with limited mobility following a recent escalation of Russian attacks in the area. At least three civilians were killed and nine others injured Tuesday after Russian missiles hit a village near the city in the Kharkiv region, which was liberated by Ukrainian forces last year.

The death toll from a Russian strike on the southern city of Zaporizhzhia Wednesday has risen to three, Ukrainian National Police said Thursday.

Nine people were injured in the attack, including an 11-month-old child, said Yurii Malashko, head of the Zaporizhzhia region military administration. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday reiterated his call for more air defenses following the attack, adding he would continue to work with allies on Kyiv's repeated request for US-made F-16 fighter jets. 

A "massive" Russian drone attack destroyed an oil depot in Ukraine's western Rivne region overnight, a Ukrainian military official said Thursday. 

In a video from the scene in Dubno district, posted on Telegram, head of the Rivne regional military administration Vitalii Koval said first responders were working to put out a fire.

The video showed a large fire and plumes of smoke rising from the oil depot. 

No casualties were reported, Koval said.

At least one woman was killed and seven other people were injured as a result of shelling by Ukrainian forces on the contested town of Svitlodarsk in the eastern Donetsk region, a Moscow-backed official said Thursday.

Russia-appointed Svitlodarsk Mayor Maxim Kozlovsky said a missile hit a residential building, wounding people in the courtyard and in their homes. 

A child was among the injured, he added.

Svitlodarsk, which is located southeast of the embattled city of Bakhmut, has been occupied by Russian forces since May last year.

Russia's Defense Ministry said it foiled a Ukrainian drone attack near Crimea early Thursday and confirmed earlier reports from Moscow's mayor that two drones had also been shot down near the capital.

The ministry said two drones were shot down near Sevastopol, the largest city in Russian-occupied Crimea, while nine other drones were "suppressed by electronic warfare capabilities" and crashed into the Black Sea.

Two other drones headed toward Moscow were also shot down by air defenses over the neighboring Kaluga region and over Odintsovo district on the outskirts of the capital, the ministry said.

Earlier, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said two drones were shot down as they approached the Russian capital — the second such attempted attack reported by the official in two days.

No casualties or damage were reported from the alleged drone attacks.. 

CNN has not independently confirmed the alleged attacks, which follow a string of reported Ukrainian drone attack attempts on Russian cities and territory occupied by Moscow.

This post has been updated with additional information.