Izium, in far eastern Ukraine, was among the first cities taken by Russian forces after the war started on Feb. 24 and became a command center for the occupying forces.
By early March, the city was almost completely isolated — no cell phones, no heat, no power.
Residents didn't know what was going on in the war, whether their relatives were alive, whether there was still a Ukraine.
Izium was retaken in a Ukrainian counteroffensive on Sept. 10, but more than a week later residents are still emerging from the confusion and trauma of six months of occupation.
