TROSTYANETS, Ukraine (AP) – The bodies of two Russian soldiers are left behind in the forest. Ukrainian troops piled on a tank with flashing victory signs. Mad people line up between charred buildings to seek help. These are the sights in a Ukrainian city that has regained control of Russian forces, at least for now.
Arriving in Trostyanets shortly after Ukrainian troops announced that the northeastern city near the Russian border had been recaptured after weeks of Russian occupation, The Associated Press Monday saw a civilian landscape that has seen some of the worst wars.
The hospital was damaged, the windows were jagged by broken glass. The train station had been shelled. Residents stepped cautiously, wary of mines. They rode their bicycles past craters in the road and along the ruins of houses. It is not yet clear how many civilians have died.
Russian tanks lay burned, twisted, left like the soldiers in the woods. One of the soldiers had a red band around his leg. The other had an arm over his head as if he were sleeping on the leaves in the late afternoon light. A Ukrainian soldier nudged him with his toe.
A red “Z” marked a Russian truck, its windshield broken, near stacked boxes of ammunition. Hundreds of boxes, including those containing artillery shells, were piled up in the city. Curious residents peered into an open box of shells.
It is not clear where the Russian troops went, under what circumstances they fled or whether the city will be free from them in the coming days. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed in his overnight address that the situation remains tense in northeastern Ukraine around Kharkov, the nearest major city, and other areas.
But the returned presence of Ukrainian troops in Trostyanets is a relief for a country that hopes some Russian troops will withdraw amid fierce resistance.
A senior US defense official said Washington believes the Ukrainians have recaptured Trostyanets. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss US intelligence assessments, said Russian forces remained largely in defensive positions near the capital Kiev and made little progress elsewhere in the country.
Late last week, as its forces ground to a halt in parts of the country, Russia appeared to be scaling back its war targets, saying its main aim was to take control of the Donbas in the east.
In Trostyanets, after weeks of occupation and fierce fighting, some residents seemed to have lost all sense of normalcy.
“Personally I haven’t seen much,” said one resident, Vitali Butski. And yet three rockets hit his house. Many buildings outside the station have been damaged, he said.
Bundled up against the icy wind, he and others ventured outside to see what had been left behind.
Unexploded ordnance lay in the square in front of the train station. Trenches and berms lined the square as a sign that Russian troops were trying to defend their position. In a bunker below the station, with thick walls and doors, the rooms were filled with army uniforms and boots.
Patriotic messages hung on the walls, including drawings signed by children in Russian that read “Thank you for the peace, soldier.”
Packets of Russian food rations were seen among the rubble. But residents indicated that 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 cucumbers,” said one resident who did not mention her name.
She called the Russians “orcs” or goblin-like creatures. There were also militias from the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, she said. The whole city was occupied.
Now there is some breathing room for the residents. In line for help, they waved at passing Ukrainian tanks.
“As you can see, there have been fights here for the past month. Projectiles flew over and people said they were scared,” said Evgeni Kosin of the emergency services. “They were without food and water. There was a terrible humanitarian situation. Now that there have been no flyovers or shelling in the past three days, things may get better.”
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Follow the AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
