Izyum tries to keep normal life as Russian troops near

Russian troops have advanced to within 30 kilometres of Izyum, forcing people in the eastern Ukrainian city to consider again whether to stay in a place still scarred by occupation and bombing.

Russia captured Izyum at the start of its 2022 invasion and occupied it for six months before Ukraine retook control in a counter-offensive later that year. The majority of the city's pre-invasion population of 45,000 returned after Russian troops were pushed back about 60 kilometres.

Local administration worker Violetta Dezhyna, 21, helps run the city's social media pages and looks for images of normal life among damaged streets, ruined buildings and military wreckage. She said she tries to find angles where the destruction is not visible.

Signs of danger remain throughout the city. Offices have tape over windows to reduce the risk from flying glass during explosions, anti-drone nets cover buildings and roads, and school activities take place in basements. Roughly 2,000 children still live in Izyum.

Some residents are trying to preserve community life. Tamara Georgina, 58, said while preparing a room for a wedding that continuing to work and live in the town was a form of resistance.

Dezhyna is pushing officials to rebuild a skate park and said young people leaving would leave the community with no future. But with Russian forces moving closer, she and her parents are again thinking about whether to flee.