On a small hill a few hundred metres away from a few burnt-out and rusted vehicles lies a set of dug-in Russian positions. Well-hidden in the undergrowth, they appear to have been visibly abandoned in a hurry during the Ukrainian counter-offensive in Mala Rogan, about ten kilometres north-east of the centre of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second city. On the ground lie countless empty boxes of green and white Russian rations (Voentorg) with a star, discarded playing cards and even bottles of men's deodorant. How long the Russians stayed here is impossible to tell, but the suspicion is that they abandoned the post on March 24, when Ukrainian forces pushed them back to the border as they retook Mala Rogan. IMAGES