As cheerful residents return to their old front-line villages and Moscow grapples with the effects of the collapse of the occupying power in northeastern Ukraine, Ukrainian forces fled Russian troops on Monday and penetrated deeper into captured territory.
Ukraine’s General Staff said on Monday its troops had retaken more than 20 towns and villages in the previous day alone, after Russia acknowledged abandoning Izium, its main stronghold in northeastern Ukraine.
“People are crying, people are happy, of course. How can they not be happy!” said. The Russian woman was crying while describing the months she spent in the basement.
Nastya, 28, had fled the village in April, but returned last week after the developments in Ukraine: “I think everyone is in a good mood! It’s all over now. She lined up to buy food with two small children.
Further north, Ukrainian troops moved closer to the border, to the village of Udi, in an uninhabited place. Returning soldiers said it was still unsafe, full of mines, grenades and weapons escaping Russian troops, and stray animals roaming.
The leader of Russia’s sworn occupation of Moscow, Vitaly Ganchev, admitted that Ukrainian troops occupied the border in the Russian-held territory of the Kharkov region.
Ordering the complete evacuation of civilians from the Russian-controlled parts of the province, Ganchev told Rossiya-24 state television that about 5,000 civilians fled to Russia, but the border was closed.
“The situation is getting more and more difficult as the hour goes by,” he said.
source: Noticias
