TROSTJANETS, Ukraine (AP) – The bodies of two Russian soldiers lie abandoned in the forest. Ukrainian troops pile up on a tank and flash victory marks. Dazed people line up between charred buildings to get help. These are the sights in a Ukrainian city that has regained control, at least for now, from Russian forces.
Arriving in Trostyanets on Monday, shortly after Ukrainian forces announced the northeastern town near the Russian border had been recaptured after weeks of Russian occupation, The Associated Press saw a civilian landscape that has seen some of the worst times of the war .
The hospital was damaged, its windows littered with broken glass. The train station had been shot up. Local residents tread cautiously, wary of mines. They rode their bikes past craters and ruined houses. It is still unclear how many civilians were killed.
Russian tanks lay burned, twisted, left like soldiers in the forest. One of the soldiers had a red band around his leg. The other had one arm thrown over his head as if napping on the leaves in the late afternoon light. A Ukrainian soldier nudged him with his toe.
A red “Z” marked a Russian truck with a broken windshield next to stacked boxes of ammunition. Hundreds of crates, including some containing artillery shells, had been stacked across the city. Curious local residents peered into an open box of shells.
It is not clear where the Russian forces went, under what circumstances they fled, or if the city will remain free of them in the coming days. In his nightly speech, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that the situation in north-eastern Ukraine around Kharkiv, the nearest major city, and in other areas remained tense.
But the renewed presence of Ukrainian forces in Trostyanets is a relief to a country that hopes some Russian forces will withdraw amid fierce resistance.
A senior US defense official said Washington believes the Ukrainians have recaptured Trostianets. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss US intelligence assessments, said Russian forces mostly remained in defensive positions near the capital Kyiv and made little progress elsewhere in the country.
Late last week, as its forces faltered in parts of the country, Russia appeared to scale back its war aims, saying its main goal was gaining control of Donbass to the east.
In Trostyanets, after weeks of occupation and heavy fighting, some residents seemed to have lost any sense of normality.
“Personally, I didn’t see much,” said one resident, Vitali Butski. And yet three rockets hit his house. Many buildings behind the station were damaged, he said.
Wrapped up against the freezing wind, he and others ventured out to see what had been left behind.
Duds lay in the square in front of the train station. Trenches and berms lined the square as a sign that Russian forces were attempting to defend their position. In a bunker under the station, with thick walls and doors, were rooms full of army uniforms and boots.
Patriotic messages hung on the walls, including drawings signed by children in Russian that read “Thank you for peace, soldier”. Another room had been used as a clinic, with unused drip vessels and desks converted into beds, although there was no sign of blood.
Packages of Russian food rations were seen among the rubble. But residents said the soldiers were still hungry.
“In the evenings they came to us, to our houses and our cellars, and stole our pickles, potatoes, lard and pickles,” said one resident, who did not give her name.
She called the Russians “orcs,” or goblin-like creatures. Militias from the Donetsk and Luhansk regions were also there, she said. The whole city was occupied.
Now the residents have some air to breathe. In the queue, they waved to the passing Ukrainian tanks.
“As you can see, there has been fighting here for the last month. Projectiles flew over and people said they were scared,” said Evgeni Kosin of the emergency services. “They were left without food and water. It was a terrible humanitarian situation. Now that there have been no flyovers or grenades for the past three days, maybe things will get better.”
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