Photo: JUAN BARRETO/AFP via Getty
JUAN BARRETO/AFP via Getty
“We prayed to God to be liberated without a fight and without blood,” a local, named Valeriy, told the outlet. “And so it happened.” Valeriy and his wife added that the victory felt like “balm for the soul.”
The interviewees were not the only residents around the city. According to CNN, locals would occasionally leave their homes, wave to the camera crew and shake hands with soldiers they encountered.
For the residents, they got to see how the Russian troops had been living for almost six months since their March takeover. “They lived like pigs,” Valeriy said. “We entered one house — and pigs live better.”
“I told them they destroyed a man’s house, and he was from the Kursk region (of Russia),” he told the outlet. “Everyone here has relatives in Belgorod (in Russia) and other cities.”
After a few conversations, CNN reported, Russian reconnaissance forces asked him, “Who have we come to liberate here?”
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On Saturday, Ukrainian forces regained control over Izium, pointing to a possible major turning point in theRussian invasion of the country,The New York Timesreported.
“Izium was liberated today,” Valeriy Marchenko, the city’s mayor, said in an interview, perthe Times. Marchenko also noted that the police and emergency services were working to clear the region so that residents could return.
“Russians escaped and left weapons and ammo behind,” a spokesperson for the Bohun Brigade of the Land Forces of Ukraine said in a statement, perCNN. “City center is free.”
A few days earlier, Ukranian troops regained control of the town of Kupiansk, 30 miles to the north of Izium, the outlet reported.
Sharing the good news onTelegram, Ukraine’s Security Service posted photos showing members of the special forces in Kupiansk. “We will free our land to the last centimeter!” the caption read. “Let’s go further! Glory to Ukraine!”
Volodymyr Zelenskyy (L); Vladimir Putin.getty
“Actions to check and secure the territory continue,” he said in the address, perthe Times. “We are gradually taking control of new settlements.”
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Last Tuesday, newly declassified intelligence from the American government revealed Russia ispurchasing “millions” of artillery shells, rockets and ammunitionfrom North Korea.
“We do have indications that Russia has approached North Korea to request ammunition,” said Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder in apress conferenceat the White House.
Ryder continued, “I’m not able to provide any more detail than that at this point in time, but it does demonstrate and is indicative of the situation that Russia finds itself in terms of its logistics and sustainment capabilities as it relates to Ukraine.”
source: people.com
