Ukraine’s Zelenskyy pays a visit to the recently retaken city of Izyum

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the recently retaken city of Izyum.
• Russian forces left the war-scarred city last week as Ukraine pressed forward.
• A new front line has started to emerge in the war, a think tank says.

On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy paid a visit to the recently retaken city of Izyum, congratulating soldiers and thanking them for their efforts in retaking the territory as the Ukrainian flag was raised in front of the burned-out city hall building.

Russian forces withdrew from the war-torn city last week, as Ukraine launched a massive counteroffensive that recaptured wide areas of territory in the country’s northeastern Kharkiv region in a couple of days.

A large portion of Izyum has been destroyed. Artillery strikes have charred and pockmarked apartment buildings. One residential building’s whole core had collapsed, leaving a gaping pit and piles of rubble where homes formerly stood.

“The image is quite sad, but it is not shocking for me,” Zelenskyy said in a brief interview with the press, “since we began to see the same pictures from Bucha, from the first de-occupied territory… so the same demolished buildings, slain people.”

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Bucha is a district in Kyiv where civilian dead, many of which bore evidence of torture, were discovered abandoned in the streets, mass graves, and yards after Russian soldiers retreated abruptly in March.

Russian tanks and vehicles lie destroyed along the road in the northern outskirts of Izyum.

“Our troops have arrived. That is extremely crucial. It helps people,” Zelenskyy explained. “I watch how people meet them at such a difficult time.” It indicates that through our troops, life is restored.”

Ukrainian army recently launched a major counteroffensive, recapturing vast areas of terrain surrounding Kharkiv and inflicting a stunning blow on Moscow’s military prestige.

Following such successes, a new front line in the conflict has begun to form, according to a Washington-based think group on Wednesday.

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