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Mala Rohan, a small village northeast of Kharkiv.
Destroyed tanks, houses in ruins - the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine has also left its mark here.
But: Life is slowly returning to the place.
Alexander Sarovic, DER SPIEGEL:
»The Ukrainian defenders freed him a long time ago, but the Russian troops continued to fire.
Because of this, residents could only return one by one.
They're tricking one by one now."
They return to a village littered with destroyed war equipment.
According to the Ukrainian side, Russian troops set up a base here in this building, and Putin's army has occupied Mala Rohan for more than a month.
Almost 3000 people lived here before the war, only about 200 remained when the place came under Russian control early on.
Liubow Zlobina owns a farm in the village with her husband.
She tells about the time of the occupation.
Liubov Zlobina, resident of Mala Rohan:
»Everyone was in shock, there was no bread, all shops were closed, the roads to the city were closed.
But we could go around them, through the orchards and fields.”
And again and again Russian troops came to their farm.
Liubov Zlobina, resident of Mala Rohan:
»They came almost every day, kept searching the farm, looking for drones.
They said that drones are hidden on the farm.
They looked everywhere for the drones, came here for food.
They took whatever they saw."
There are reports of rapes during the period under Russian control - and of fatalities.
At the end of March, the Ukrainian forces retook the place.
Dmytro, Ukrainian soldier:
»There were at least ten people here.
You can see mattresses here.
They used the vehicle for protection.
And when we started firing artillery, they ran away."
This information from the Ukrainian army cannot be verified independently.
Residents report that when Putin's army withdrew, the soldiers fired around.
Liubow Zlobina's farm caught fire under fire.
The bullet landed here, so we couldn't go into the barn.
My husband tore down the wall.
I told him: Tear down the barn.
The animals were screaming, calves, piglets, I told him to tear down the wall and we managed to get half out.
The other half burned, half the barn, the calves inside, the piglets .
We saved half of them, we got some of the smaller ones out through the windows.
Now, more than a month later, Ukrainian victories are multiplying, the front line is moving farther and farther away from Mala Rohan and Kharkiv.
Alexander Sarovic, DER SPIEGEL:
»Here east of Kharkiv and also further north, the Ukrainian troops have meanwhile pushed the Russian attackers back very far. Last night, the Ukrainian army reported further gains in territory. It is now the case that a real counter-offensive has formed. And they could push the Russians back so far that Kharkiv is no longer within the range of his artillery."
The successes of the Ukrainians are already providing relief in the big city.
The war damage is of course obvious and the Saltivka district in the northeast is still being shelled again and again, but according to the authorities only two to five shells hit the city every day.
It used to be 50 to 80.
And: Developments in the Kharkiv region could also affect the Russian campaign in the Donbass.
If the Russian commanders around Kharkiv do not want to be pushed back even further, they may have to send reinforcements here.
Reinforcements that they actually need for their offensive in the Donbass.