Ukraine war: Residents return to villages in the northeast

Ukrainian forces swept deeper into territory seized from fleeing Russian troops yesterday, as joyful residents returned to former frontline villages and Moscow grappled with the consequences of the collapse of its occupation force in northeastern Ukraine.

Ukraine's general staff said early yesterday that its soldiers had recaptured more than 20 towns and villages in just the past day, after Russia acknowledged it was abandoning Izium, its main stronghold in northeastern Ukraine.

"People are crying, people are joyful, of course. How could they not be joyful!" said retired English teacher Zoya, 76, north of Kharkiv in the village of Zolochiv 18 km from the Russian frontier, weeping as she described the months she had spent sheltering the cellar.

Nastya, 28, had fled the village in April but returned last week after news of Ukrainian advances: "I think everyone's in a great (mood)! It's all over now. At least we hope it's all over," she said, queuing for groceries with two small children.

Further north, Ukrainian troops had moved into Udi, a hamlet in what had been no-man's-land closer to the frontier. Soldiers returning from there said it was still unsafe, littered with land mines, grenades and weapons left behind by fleeing Russian troops, with abandoned farm animals wandering about.

In what remained of Russian-held territory in Kharkiv region, Vitaly Ganchev, the Russian-installed head of Moscow's occupation administration acknowledged that Ukraine's troops had broken through to the frontier.

Ganchev, who has ordered the complete evacuation of civilians from Russian-held parts of the province, told Russia's state-owned Rossiya-24 television that about 5,000 civilians had escaped to Russia but the frontier was now shut. "The situation is becoming more difficult by the hour," he said.

Russia said yesterday its forces were striking parts of the eastern Kharkiv region retaken by Ukraine, vowing to continue its military action in the country. It also said it saw "no prospects" for talks with Kyiv, ruling out negotiations.

The defence ministry in its daily briefing said Russian air, rocket and artillery forces were "delivering precision strikes on units and reserves of the Ukrainian armed forces", including in the urban hubs of Kupiansk and Izyum.

As thousands of Russian troops abandoned their positions, leaving behind huge stocks of ammunition and equipment, Russia fired missiles at power stations on Sunday causing blackouts in the Kharkiv and adjacent Poltava and Sumy regions.

Ukraine denounced what it described as retaliation against civilian targets for its military advances. By yesterday morning, Reuters journalists in Kharkiv said the power was back on, although the water was not yet working. The regional governor said power had been restored by 80 percent.

Britain's ministry of defence said Russia had probably ordered its forces to withdraw from all of Kharkiv region west of the Oskil River, abandoning the main supply route that had sustained Russia's operations in the east.

The British ministry also said Moscow's forces were also struggling to bring reserves to the frontline in the south.