Devastated by years of Russian attacks, the nine-storey buildings that dot the skyline of Kupiansk in northeast Ukraine now "stand like black candles", local Vitaly Bardas recalled.

Captured by Russia on the first day of its 2022 invasion, then retaken by Ukraine in a stunning counter-offensive months later, the logistics hub is once again in Moscow's crosshairs.

Russian soldiers dressed in civilian clothes have been infiltrating its streets in attacks from the north, Ukraine's military has conceded. Moscow claims to have the city encircled.

Locals like Bardas -- a 50-year old municipal worker who AFP met at a displacement centre -- fear what could happen if Russia captures the city again.

As in most places they seized, Moscow's forces hunted and then tortured dozens of civilians suspe

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