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After Russian forces pull back, a shattered town breathes

Rogue Valley

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After Russian forces pull back, a shattered town breathes

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Foreground: The bodies of two Russian soldiers in Trostsyanets, Ukraine.

3.29.22
TROSTYANETS, Ukraine (AP) — The bodies of two Russian soldiers lie abandoned in the woods. Ukrainian forces piled atop a tank flash victory signs. Dazed people line up amid charred buildings to reach for aid. These are the sights in a Ukrainian town that has seized back control from Russian forces, at least for now. Arriving in Trostyanets shortly after Ukrainian forces announced the northeastern town near the Russian border had been retaken following weeks of Russian occupation, The Associated Press on Monday saw a civilian landscape that has seen some of the worst of war. The hospital was damaged, its windows jagged with broken glass. The train station had been shot up. Residents stepped carefully, wary of mines. They rode their bicycles past craters in the road and past the ruins of homes. It is not yet clear how many civilians have been killed. Russian tanks lay burned, twisted, left behind like the soldiers in the woods. One of the soldiers had a red band around his leg. The other had an arm flung over his head as if napping on the leaves in the late afternoon light. A Ukrainian soldier nudged him with his toe.It is not clear where the Russian forces went, under what circumstances they fled or whether the town will remain free of them in the days ahead. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his overnight address emphasized that the situation remains tense in Ukraine’s northeast.

But the returned presence of Ukrainian forces in Trostyanets is a relief to a country that hopes some Russian forces, under fierce resistance, are pulling back. A senior U.S. defense official said Washington believes the Ukrainians have retaken Trostyanets. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss U.S. intelligence assessments, said Russian forces largely remained in defensive positions near the capital, Kyiv, and were making little forward progress elsewhere in the country. “Personally, I have not seen much,” said one resident, Vitali Butski. And yet three missiles struck his home. Many buildings beyond the railway station are damaged, he said.Bundled up against the freezing wind, he and others ventured out to see what had been left behind. Unexploded ordnance littered the square in front of the train station. Trenches and berms lined the square in a sign that Russian forces tried to defend their position. Packets of Russian food rations were seen amid the debris. But residents indicated that the soldiers were still hungry. “In the evenings they came to us, to our houses and our basements, and stole our pickles, potatoes, lard and cucumbers,” said one resident who didn’t give her name. She called the Russians “orcs,” or goblin-like creatures. Militias from the Donetsk and Luhansk regions were there as well, she said. The entire town had been occupied. Now, for residents, there is some space to breathe. In line for aid, they waved to passing Ukrainian tanks.


The town of Trostyanets (20,000) is about midway between the cities of Kharkiv and Sumy in northeastern Ukraine. If the Russian military couldn't hold this town, which is only about 20 miles from the Russia border, then its problems run deep. Trostyanets was recaptured by the Ukrainian 93rd Mechanized Brigade. The mayor said Russian troops used hand grenades (flash-bangs?) to break up a protest on March 18. He also said a small local hospital was mined.

Ukrainian forces have apparently also liberated Irpin, a northern suburb of Kyiv. But the Ukraine military says the Russians are still trying to encircle the capital city. Kherson in the south has been liberated, but fighting continues at Mykolaiv and fierce fighting rages at Mariupol. Most of the city of Mariupol now resembles the town of Shyrokne, which lies about 20 miles east of Mariupol and which was totally destroyed by artillery barrages fired by rebels from occupied Donetsk oblast duting the past 8 years. Despite what Moscow has said, heavy fighting continues for Kyiv, Mariupol, and Mykolaiv.

Also Monday, the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta (New Gazette) said it was suspending operations for the duration of the conflict. The outlet, which is edited by Nobel laureate Dmitry Muratov, was the last independent news organization operating inside Russia which has outlawed even minor references to the war in Ukraine. The bi-weekly Novaya Gazeta newspaper was home to investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya who was assassinated in her building's elevator in 2006.
 
OH....thank GOODNESS!!
I've been worried sick about Trostsyanets, Ukraine.
This is MOST WELCOME news Rogue!! MOST WELCOME indeed!!!!
Keep us posted!!!:rolleyes:
 
OH....thank GOODNESS!!
I've been worried sick about Trostsyanets, Ukraine.
This is MOST WELCOME news Rogue!! MOST WELCOME indeed!!!!
Keep us posted!!!:rolleyes:

Aren't you still busy with your white superiority crap?

I'm proud of my Mighty Whitey European White Male heritage. Thats true. So....here I am. Proud European White Male, proud and VERY successful. (y)
My people and I have done more for humanity than any other group in all likelihood.

And don't be fooled by the JFK avatar folks. JFK would never embrace such a racist creed.
 
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