Video summary
The Ukrainian town of Izyum in the Kharkiv region faces a renewed threat as Russian troops approach, prompting residents to prepare for a potential worst-case scenario that could lead to near-total destruction. This looming danger follows a five-month occupation in 2022, leaving behind a landscape scarred by destroyed buildings and mass graves where all 447 bodies were eventually exhumed and reburied on a hill. The grim reality of the previous occupation is still visible today through inscriptions on crosses marking unknown victims and bone fragments scattered among the ruins, serving as a haunting reminder of the horrors endured four years ago.
Despite not being under immediate threat of capture at this exact moment, the atmosphere in Izyum is one of tense preparation rather than passive waiting. Ukrainian forces have constructed new fortifications around the city, including freshly dug trenches, anti-tank barriers, and an extensive network of defensive structures such as minefields, triple rows of barbed wire, ditches, and concrete pyramids known as dragon's teeth. Local commanders are planning for every possible scenario to repel a large-scale assault, while the city itself has become a critical staging area and logistics hub for the Ukrainian military, requiring Russian troops to break through multiple rings of these formidable defenses to reach it.
The human cost and emotional weight of the conflict are deeply felt by the local population, who recall the trauma of the first Russian bombs falling on the city center and compare the current situation to the devastation of Stalingrad in 1942. Seventy-year-old journalist Nikolai Kalyuzhny remembers his childhood stories about life during the German occupation and fears that history is repeating itself, a sentiment echoed by the city's history museum which now displays items like Russian propaganda newspapers, shrapnel-torn helmets, and occupier boots. Although Deputy Mayor Vladimir Matsokin expresses a strong desire for Izyum to be known for its resilience and recovery rather than just as a site of torture, major investments have been frozen due to the approaching front, halting plans such as underground schools.
Currently, approximately 28,000 people remain in Izyum, down from 45,000 before the full-scale invasion, as essential infrastructure including a movie theater, the city council building, and a school have been destroyed. The community lives with an anti-drone net stretched over the sidewalks in the city center, marking Izyum as the first Ukrainian city to install such preemptive measures long before drones began terrorizing the region. While residents hope that Ukrainian forces will continue to hold the line, they simultaneously brace for a battle that many fear will be far more terrifying than the last, hoping that their city can eventually live and recover beyond its current state of devastation.
Read the full video transcript
The Ukrainian town of Izium in the
Kharkiv region, which has still not
recovered from a 5-month Russian
occupation in 2022, is under threat
again. Russian troops are approaching
and residents are preparing for the
worst-case scenario, fearing that this
time Izium could be almost completely
destroyed. This is according to a report
in the New York Times. According to
journalists, a number of graves in the
city serve as a gruesome reminder of the
horrors of the Russian occupation 4
years ago. Among them are inscriptions
on crosses, unknown woman, and bone
fragments. Russian troops left behind
destroyed buildings and a mass grave.
All 447 bodies from the mass grave were
exhumed and reburied on a hill,
including remains that have yet to be
identified. Residents have no illusions.
They say the next battle for the city
will be far more terrifying than the
last. Therefore, although Izium is not
yet under immediate threat of capture or
destruction, people are preparing for
the worst while simultaneously hoping
that Ukrainian forces will continue to
hold the line. Meanwhile, the authors
write, "Ukrainian troops have built new
fortifications around the city and are
practicing operations to repel a
large-scale assault." According to one
local commander, call sign trainer,
they're planning for every possible
scenario. 70-year-old journalist Nikolai
Kalyuzhny, a local resident, says that
as a child, he listened to his mother's
stories about life in Izium during the
German occupation. He never imagined
that history could repeat itself. He
vividly remembers the first Russian
planes overhead, the first bombs falling
in the city center, and the mutilated
body of a man near the monument to the
poet Taras Shevchenko. "It was like
Stalingrad in 1942. Everything was
burning," he recalls. The city's history
museum is hosting an exhibition [music]
dedicated to life under Russian
occupation. It features packs of Russian
cigarettes, propaganda newspapers,
Russian helmets torn by shrapnel, and
the boots of the occupiers. According to
Deputy Mayor Vladimir Matsokin, Izium
doesn't want to remain known simply as a
site of mass graves or torture, but
wants to live and recover. However, he
explained, the approaching front has led
to the freezing of major investments,
including some plans to build
underground schools. According to the
report, approximately 28,000 people
currently live in Izium, compared to
45,000 before the full-scale invasion. A
movie theater, the city council
building, and a school have been
destroyed. An anti-drone net has been
stretched over the sidewalk in the city
center. Izium is a key staging area and
logistics hub for the Ukrainian
military. To reach the city, Russian
troops would have to break through
several rings of defensive
fortifications, minefields, triple rows
of barbed wire, ditches, and concrete
pyramids known as dragon's teeth, which
stretch for many kilometers, journalists
write. Freshly dug trenches and
anti-tank barriers appear along the
highway leading into the city. After the
checkpoint, an anti-drone net forms a
tunnel over the road. According to the
authors, Izium became the first city in
Ukraine to install such nets
preemptively, long before drones began
terrorizing the city.