In eastern Ukraine, the war’s epicenter, a brutal fight rages and terrified villagers flee: “I don't want to live in Russia”
Washington Post journalists spent two days this week traveling the region, approaching within six miles of advancing Russian military units. They interviewed Ukrainian military commanders and soldiers, local officials in towns under increasing pressure from Russian bombardments and terrified civilians whose ravaged homes, schools, churches and businesses are suddenly on the front lines of a war that is drawing ever closer.
Izyum is located at the highest point of elevation in the Kharkiv region, on a strategic piece of ground called “Kramiyanets” or “Flint Hill.” The elevated position towers over the hills that define this land. From there, major roadways and adjoining villages are visible for miles. Taking it would give Russian forces the ability to control the surrounding areas and limit the movement of Ukrainian forces mounting any counteroffensive.
The governor of the Donetsk region, Pavlo Kyrylenko, has embraced his role as a wartime leader helping to organize the effort to defend his homeland. He said in an interview Tuesday that after more than a month of war, the days blur together. He said he spends long hours reviewing the latest damage reports from Russian shelling and fielding calls from local officials organizing the evacuation of civilians.
Kyrylenko said focusing attention on those agents ensures that Ukrainians “won’t get hit with a knife in the back.” He has suspended civilian rule and imposed military control in 11 districts near Kramatorsk previously controlled by the opposition party. On Tuesday, he submitted a request to President Volodymyr Zelensky to add another.