MARIUPOL, UKRAINE – APRIL 9, 2022: People walk past destroyed houses in Mariupol. The Russian Armed Forces are carrying out a special military operation in Ukraine in response to requests from the leaders of the Donetsk People's Republic and Lugansk People's Republic for assistance. Valentin Sprinchak/TASS/Sipa USA
Ukraine: Situation in Mariupol
IRPIN, Ukraine (AP) — Heartened by Russia’s withdrawal from Ukraine’s capital region, residents of the town of Irpin have started coming home, at least to what’s left.
The pounding sounds from a sixth-floor window and the risk of falling glass are not destruction, but rebuilding. Irpin saw desperate scenes of flight just weeks ago.
Terrified residents picked their way under a bridge intentionally destroyed by Ukrainian forces to slow the Russian advance toward Kyiv. Now, a long line of cars waits to cross a recently improvised bridge allowing access between the town and the capital. The early returnees are among the 7 million Ukrainians displaced inside their country by the war.
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