Service members of the State Security Service of Ukraine pose for a picture in the recently liberated town of Kupiansk, amid Russia鈥檚 attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine in this handout picture released September 10, 2022. (Press Service of the State Security Service of Ukraine/Handout via REUTERS)
KYIV/HRAKOVE, Ukraine聽 鈥� Moscow abandoned its main bastion in northeastern Ukraine on Saturday, in a sudden collapse of one of the war鈥檚 principal front lines after Ukrainian forces made a rapid advance.
The swift fall of Izium in Kharkiv province was Moscow鈥檚 worst defeat since its troops were forced back from the capital Kyiv in March.
This could prove a decisive turning point in the 6-month-old war, with thousands of Russian soldiers abandoning ammunition stockpiles and equipment as they fled.
Russian forces used Izium as the logistics base for one of their main campaigns 鈥� a months-long assault from the north on the adjacent Donbas region comprised of Donetsk and Luhansk.
The state-run TASS news agency quoted Russia鈥檚 defense ministry as saying it had ordered troops to leave the vicinity and reinforce operations elsewhere in neighboring Donetsk.
The head of Russia鈥檚 administration in Kharkiv told residents to evacuate the province and flee to Russia to 鈥渟ave lives,鈥� TASS reported. Witnesses described traffic jams of cars with people leaving Russian-held territory.
The Russian withdrawal was heralded by Ukrainian leaders.
鈥淭he Russian army these days is demonstrating its best ability 鈥� to show its back,鈥� President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video address Saturday evening.
Ukraine鈥檚 armed forces have liberated around 2,000 square kilometers (770 square miles) of territory since a counter-offensive against Russia started earlier this month, he said.
Ukrainian officials stopped short of confirming they had recaptured Izium, but Andriy Yermak, Zelenskiy鈥檚 chief of staff, posted a photo of troops on its outskirts and tweeted an emoji of grapes. The city鈥檚 name means 鈥渞aisin.鈥�
鈥淭he Russian army is claiming the title of fastest army in the world 鈥� keep running!鈥� Yermak wrote on Twitter later.
The Russian withdrawal announcement came hours after Ukrainian troops captured the city of Kupiansk farther north, the sole railway hub supplying Russia鈥檚 entire front line across northeastern Ukraine. Ukrainian officials posted photos early on Saturday of their troops raising the country鈥檚 blue-and-yellow flag in front of Kupiansk鈥檚 city hall.
That left thousands of Russian troops abruptly cut off from supplies along a front that has seen some of the most intense battles of the war.
There were signs of trouble for Russia elsewhere along its remaining positions at the eastern front, with pro-Russian officials acknowledging difficulties at other locations.
Ukrainian armed forces are continuing to advance in different areas along the front, Zelensky said.
MECHANIZED ASSAULT
Days ago, Kyiv鈥檚 forces burst through the front line and have since recaptured dozens of towns and villages in a swift mechanized assault, surging forward dozens of kilometers (miles) a day.
鈥淭o achieve the stated goals of the Special Military Operation for the liberation of Donbas, it was decided to regroup the Russian troops located in the districts of Balakliia and Izium for the purpose of increasing efforts in the Donetsk direction,鈥� TASS quoted Russia鈥檚 defense ministry as saying.
Russian forces had already abandoned Balakliia days ago.
Ukraine鈥檚 deputy defense minister, Hanna Malyar, sounded a cautionary note, urging people not to report prematurely that towns have been 鈥渢aken鈥� just because Ukrainian troops have entered, as in Balakliia.
鈥淎 few days ago it was reported that troops had entered the town. Today we have finally established control in the city, carried out all the necessary activities, and raised the flag,鈥� she said.
In Hrakove, one of dozens of villages recaptured in the Ukrainian advance, Reuters saw burnt-out vehicles bearing the 鈥淶鈥� symbol of Russia鈥檚 invasion. Boxes of ammunition were scattered along with rubbish at positions the Russians had abandoned in evident haste.
鈥淗ello everyone, we are from Russia,鈥� was spray-painted on a wall. Three bodies lay in white body bags in a yard.
The regional chief of police, Volodymyr Tymoshenko, said Ukrainian police moved in the previous day, and checked the identities of local residents who had lived under Russian occupation since the invasion鈥檚 second day.
鈥淭he first function is to provide help that they need. The next job is to document the crimes committed by Russian invaders on the territories which they temporarily occupied,鈥� he said.
鈥楻USSIA IS RETREATING鈥�
A witness in Valuyki, a town in Russia鈥檚 Belgorod region near the border with Ukraine, told Reuters she saw families from Kupiansk eating and sleeping in their cars along roads.
鈥淚 was at the market today and saw a lot of people from Kupiansk. They say half of the city was taken by the Ukrainian army and Russia is retreating鈥� the fighting is getting closer,鈥� the witness said.
Belgorod governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said officials were giving food and medical aid to people queuing at a crossing into Russia. Senator Andrey Turchak, from the pro-Kremlin United Russia party, reported more than 400 vehicles at the frontier.
Russian rocket fire hit Kharkiv city on Saturday evening, killing at least one person and damaging several homes, part of a surge in shelling since Kyiv鈥檚 counter-offensive, Ukrainian officials said.
Reuters could not confirm the battlefield accounts independently.
Russia鈥檚 abrupt abandonment of the front line south of Kharkiv city brought a sudden end to a period when the war was fought as a relentless grind on a static front, favoring Moscow鈥檚 advantage in raw firepower.