According to the RNBO, in 2022. Izium was the most bombed city in Ukraine — 476 airstrikes; Over 1000 civilians were killed, 436 bodies were exhumed from one mass grave.

The city under pressure

Izium, about 120 km southeast of Kharkiv, came under occupation at the beginning of March 2022. The liberation took place on September 10, and on September 14, the Ukrainian flag was solemnly raised over the town hall. The scale of the damage and casualties is documented in investigative materials and local documentation.

Life under bombs: everyday life without infrastructure

For months of occupation, the inhabitants functioned without water, gas, heating, electricity, television and radio. The source of information was mainly propaganda channels: the locally printed newspaper "Izyumskiy tielegraf", the publishing house "Kharkiv-Z" and "radio-Z" broadcast in the city. The editorial board of "Обрії Ізюмщини" managed to collect the complete sets of these publications and recordings of the broadcasts, including a program in which they talked about "full control" when the neighboring Balakliya had already been liberated.

What the objects say (in the photos from the archive)

• School textbooks — evidence of attempts to replace the Ukrainian educational curriculum with Russian materials.
• The uniform, patches, elements of equipment — traces of the presence of specific Russian formations.
• Triangular letters with a "Z" — an element of wartime emotional communication with soldiers.
• Party banners ("Just Russia") — a hint of building a network of political structures in an occupied city.

Memory and evidence

After the liberation, the editorial staff of "Обрії Ізюмщини" began a public appeal for artifacts: from uniforms and documents to audio/video files. In two years, over 550 objects were collected; Some of the materials were handed over to the police and joined the proceedings. On the basis of the collections, the Museum of the Occupation of Izium is being created — a memorial project and a source of evidence for future cases.

Chronology

— Occupation – March–September 2022
— Deliverance — September 10, 2022
— Raising the Flag - September 14, 2022
— 476 airstrikes, >1000 civilian casualties, 436 bodies from one mass grave (RNBO, local data)

References

- Materials of the editorial staff of "Обрії Ізюмщини" and local documentation
- RNBO data on air raids and casualties in 2022
- Collections of photographs and recordings from the occupation period (newspaper, radio, banners, uniforms)