At the same time, in Shostka
Pavlov: "I've just realized, after being bombarded for days, there aren't many intact buildings left to hold the prisoners."
Popov: "There's no need to house them. The enemy is likely to reciprocate our artillery fire tonight. The bombardment could well kill off half of these prisoners. Just put them next to the train station, and when the supply train arrives tonight, we can unload the supplies and load them up immediately."
Popov paused, then added, "If the enemy begins shelling during this process, we can say that the enemy deliberately killed these prisoners. We'll use that for propaganda purposes."
Pavlov thought about it and nodded, "Alright, let's do that. There's a large storage area right next to the train station. They can sunbathe there. It's autumn, so they won't get heatstroke."
Having decided, Pavlov picked up the phone to issue orders, calling for a company from the reserves to deploy along the railway.