IZIUM, Ukraine ¨C Standing in cold drizzle among wreckage left behind by Russia¡¯s chaotic retreat, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy looked to the sky on Wednesday toward his country¡¯s flag flying over the main square of a city reclaimed just days ago in a stunning counterattack.
¡°Today, when we look up, we are looking for only one thing ¡ª the flag of Ukraine,¡± Zelenskyy told soldiers in front of the city¡¯s bombed-out municipal building. ¡°Our blue and yellow flag is already flying in de-occupied Izium. And it will be so in every Ukrainian city and village.¡±
The president¡¯s unannounced appearance in Izium, about 9 miles from the front in Ukraine¡¯s northeast, was a tangible sign of Ukraine¡¯s soaring morale and its growing boldness ¡ª a demonstration that the military could ensure Zelenskyy¡¯s safety even near the front and that it would staunchly defend what it had reclaimed.
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