Russia captures critical eastern city amid hasty withdrawal from Kiev front

Russian forces on Friday captured the eastern city of Izyum in the Kharkiv region, potentially opening Moscow's way into the thus far stalwart territories of the Donetsk Oblast.

The Ukrainian General Staff confirmed the loss of the city, which had been the site of intense clashes in recent days. Situated just inside the Kharkiv Oblast, Izyum lies to the North of the Donbas city of Sloviansk, in the northern section of the Donetsk Oblast.

The hotly contested Donbas includes the Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts and hosts two separatist republics which have resisted Kievan authority since 2014. Prior to the invasion, Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized both states as well as their territorial claims to the Donbas areas outside of their practical control. Neither breakaway government controlled their respective oblast completely before the invasion.

As of press time, Russia controls most of the Luhansk Oblast, save for the cities of Sieveierodonetsk and Lyschansk, while the Donetsk Oblast remains the scene of heavy fighting, most notably in the beleaguered city of Mariupol.

The breakthrough at Izyum puts Russia in a position to occupy the unconquered northern areas of Donetsk and move closer to encircling Ukraine's easternmost forces, which senior U.S. officials have identified as their overall strategy.

Russian gains in the region come as part of a larger strategic pivot by the top brass toward prioritizing control of Donbas, the war's ostensible casus belli, and away from taking the capital city of Kiev. Russian forces on Thursday abandoned positions at Hostomel, outside the capital, and relinquished control of the Chernobyl nuclear site.