International Desk: Ukraine has told some residents to leave Kupiansk, as Russia seeks to re-take the city it left last year.

Kharkiv’s military command urged families and those “with limited mobility” to leave due to “constant” shelling by Russian forces.

Russia took the north-eastern city, an important supply hub, early in the full-scale invasion, with Ukraine re-capturing it last September.

Meanwhile, Wagner group says its troops have “practically encircled” Bakhmut.

Earlier this week, President Volodymyr Zelensky admitted the situation in Bakhmut – around 130km (80 miles) south of Kupiansk – was becoming “more and more difficult”.

In Kupiansk, the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration said the evacuation order was due to the “unstable security situation” caused by Russia’s shelling of the town and its surroundings.

It said those evacuated would be provided with assistance, including accommodation, food, humanitarian aid and medical support.

Other citizens are also permitted to leave the region, it added. The city had a pre-war population of around 25,000.

The military said 812 children are currently registered in Kupiansk and the surrounding district, as well as 724 disabled people.

The Institute for the Study of War said this week that Russian forces were continuing “limited ground attacks” north-east of Kupiansk, as well as offensive operations around Kreminna, around 80km (50 miles) south.