Russia loses control of key towns as Ukrainian forces advance

KATHMANDU: Moscow has abandoned its main bastion in northeastern Ukraine, in a sudden collapse of one of the war’s main front lines after Ukrainian forces made a rapid advance.

The swift fall of Izyum in Kharkiv province on Saturday was Moscow’s worst defeat since its troops were forced back from the capital Kyiv in March.

This could prove a pivotal moment in the six-month-old war, with thousands of Russian soldiers abandoning ammunition stockpiles and equipment as they fled.

Russian forces used Izyum as the logistics base for one of their main campaigns – a months-long assault from the north on the adjacent Donbas region comprising Donetsk and Luhansk.

The state-run TASS news agency quoted Russia’s defense ministry as saying it had ordered troops to leave the vicinity and reinforce operations elsewhere in neighboring Donetsk.

The head of Russia’s administration in Kharkiv told residents to evacuate the province and flee to Russia to “save lives”, TASS reported. Witnesses described traffic jams of cars with people leaving Russian-held territory.