Shevchenkove is a small town in the north-eastern part of Ukraine's Kharkiv region, not in the Mykolaiv region. It has a population of roughly 7,000 and is named after Taras Shevchenko, Ukraine's national poet, whose bust stands in the town. The regional centre, Kupiansk, lies about 35 kilometres away.
Russian forces occupied the town on 25 February 2022, at the start of the full-scale invasion. During the occupation, a pro-Kremlin appointee ran the town administration from the mayor's office, a memorial to Ukrainian soldiers who fought in Donetsk in 2014 was demolished, and a Ukrainian trident plaque was torn down. Residents reported searches of homes and property and arrests by the FSB, with detainees interrogated in Kupiansk. A basement in the boarded-up conscription office contained welded metal holding cages installed during the occupation. Ukrainian forces recaptured the town on 8 September 2022 during a surprise counteroffensive in the Kharkiv region.
After liberation, refugees from Kupiansk arrived by bus at the town's central square and queued at the police station to register, while officials checked documents against lists of wanted collaborators. The town lies just out of range of Russian artillery positioned on the east bank of the Oskil River.