Russia gives up key northeast towns as Ukrainian forces advance

A destroyed car is pictured in front of a damaged residential building, in Saltivka, one of the most damaged residential areas, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv, Ukraine September 6, 2022. REUTERS/Viacheslav Ratynskyi

KYIV/HRAKOVE, Ukraine (Reuters) -Moscow abandoned its main bastion in northeastern Ukraine on Saturday, in a sudden collapse of one of the war's principal front lines after Ukrainian forces made a rapid advance.

The swift fall of Izium in Kharkiv province was Moscow's worst defeat since its troops were forced back from the capital Kyiv in March. Ukraine hailed it as a turning point in the 6-month-old war, with thousands of Russian soldiers leaving behind ammunition stockpiles and equipment as they fled.