The roads leading to Balakliia, a former frontline town in Kharkiv province recently recaptured by Ukraine, were littered with the detritus of war; carcasses of Russian tanks, crates of abandoned ammunition and destroyed vehicles were scattered along the sides.
Three of the bridges into the town had been blown up. One had been replaced with a pontoon bridge, but that too was out of action after a truck turned on its side while crossing. Several houses on the outskirts were destroyed, as well as factories and farms Russian and Ukrainian forceshad used as bases.
