Their town now freed from Russian occupation, Ukrainians feel shock and joy

Local residents gather on Tuesday to receive humanitarian aid in Balakliia, a town recently liberated by the Ukrainian military as part of its counteroffensive in the Kharkiv region. (Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy/NurPhoto via Reuters)

BALAKLIIA, Ukraine — Lyudmyla Vorona says her hometown of Balakliia, in northeastern Ukraine's Kharkiv region, was not prepared when the Russians took control in early March.

"We didn't have extra food and toiletries," the 60-year-old Vorona says. "And the children were scared from all the shelling. We were very cold and hungry."