'Like Chornobyl': Wary Ukrainians return to ruined towns after Russian retreat

Nataliia Yelistratova with her husband Mykhailio and daughter Olena Miroshnychenko walk along a street past a destroyed military vehicle in their hometown of Balakliia, which was recently liberated by the Ukrainian armed Forces, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine September 17, 2022. REUTERS/Vitalii Hnidyi

BALAKLIIA, Ukraine (Reuters) - Joy, trepidation and grief flickered across the face of Nataliia Yelistratova as she sat next to her husband on a special train back to their home town of Balakliia that Ukraine recaptured last week after six months of Russian occupation.

The town - which had a population of 27,000 before the war - is one of key urban outposts that Ukraine recaptured in northeastern Kharkiv region in early September after a sudden collapse of one of Russia's principal front lines.