Lubov Antipina, a Russian female surviving in Kursk, spent 7 months trying to find out what happened to her parents who lived in a village occupied by Ukrainian forces.
After searching social media and spreading hundreds of flyers asking for aid in the search, she recognized her parent and father in a movie published on the Telegram.
— Finally, we could breathe,” she told Antipina to the paper “Financial Times”. Last period her parents joined Kursk after Russian forces regained control of their household village Zaoleshenka.
Her communicative reflects A tragedy taking place in the Russian border region, for which Vladimir Putin is responsible.
This is the consequence of his decision to invade Ukraine. In consequence to it, Kiev conducted last August an unexpected offensive on Russian soil, which mostly ended in March — even if there are inactive smaller cross-border skirmishes.
Responsibility of Moscow
For months the humanitarian crisis in the Kursk Oblast was at least partially Moscow's work. Several 1000 Russians, mostly in the elderly, were left without medical care, energy supplies and telecommunications — as well as food and water shortages.
Many residents accused the situation of Ukrainian forces of this, pointing to cases of looting and brutal treatment they carried out while searching homes. However, many of them besides held the Russian authorities responsible, accusing them of neglect.
Moscow claims that from areas occupied by Ukrainians Some 150,000 civilians escaped. Since his arrival in Kursk, any have protested against mediocre conditions in evacuation facilities and delays in state support.
Associated Press/East News / East NewsA view of Suja, the largest city in the Kursk Oblast, after Russian troops took control of it, on 15 March 2025.
— Vladimir Vladimirovich. Why does no 1 perceive to us?! We've been surviving in hell for 3 months! “A exile from Olgawka said in 1 of the recordings. About 50 another villagers agreed with his appeal.
Refugees from Suja, the largest city temporarily occupied by Ukraine, complained that no 1 had told them to leave, even though there were signs of an offensive prepared by Ukrainian forces.
— In the summertime of 2024, I was driving along the border. With the bare eye, the troops were gathering," said Vladimir Sinelnikov, a local volunteer, in a video appeal to the president of Russia.
Putin didn't respond to the video footage. He had granted compensation to the evacuated Russians and changed the politician of the region in the hope that he would have better communication with the residents.
Ukrainian Standard
Ukrainians have documented many cases of civilian executions and another war crimes committed by Russian forces in Ukraine — including attacks on residential areas, schools, and hospitals. Kiev besides accused Putin of violating the terms of a partial ceasefire, which he agreed in talks conducted through US president Donald Trump. Putin and 1 of his top officials are being prosecuted by the global Criminal Court in The Hague..
Moscow, in turn, claims that Kiev is guilty of war crimes in the Kursk region, claiming that fleeing civilians had become targets of attacks by Ukrainians and that they had mistreated or even killed those who remained in their homes.
— The nature of the business in the Russian region of Kursk was much different from what Russian forces did erstwhile they tried to occupy Kiev in 2022," said Ruslan Lewev, a military analyst and founder of the Conflict Intelligence Team.
— There were no reports of cleanups in the Kursk region in contrast to the Kiev circuit. any residents mentioned that they received humanitarian and medical assistance from Ukrainian forces. Both parties confirmed that civilians were evacuated by Ukraine and Belarus to Russia — this is an unimaginable script in the case of Kiev. Moscow has not yet provided credible evidence of war crimes or murders committed by Ukrainian forces on civilians in Kursk, he added.
One example that Russian state tv frequently cites is the death of 28-year-old Nina Kuzniecowa. She died after the car she evacuated with her household was under Ukrainian fire. Her husband was interrogated many times, blamed Ukrainian forces for her death.
The Financial Times was incapable to independently verify his allegations. Heorhiy Tykhyj, a spokesperson for the Ministry of abroad Affairs of Ukraine, repeatedly reiterated that Kiev troops did not attack civilians in the Kursk Oblast.
The humanitarian crisis
After closing the evacuation window of the territory controlled by Ukraine became unavailable to the Russian side, all communication was discontinued. On a Ukrainian YouTube channel called Unwanted by Putin, films began to appear in which relatives were appearing sending messages about their loved ones.
Another way to communicate messages was by Ukrainian soldiers. “People were sending video messages through us to families in Suja,” said Artem Kariakin, who was stationed there.
Ukrainian military doctors occasionally treated Russian civilians and provided them with the essential medicines, including insulin," said Vitaly, another Ukrainian soldier who was stationed in the Kursk region.
However, hospitals, shops, pharmacies, and even supplies of gas and water were cut off. Soldiers brought dry food and sometimes water, but besides residents relied on their own produce. They cooked at fires or makeshift furnaces, and in winter they drowned snow to get water.
— My parent and father survived the 1990s, so my father built the oven himself. They ate what they grew in the garden, killed a pig, and shared meat with their neighbors. From time to time they managed to get cookies and even sweets from looted shops,” said Antipina.
The inhabitants of the Kurdish region called for the creation of a humanitarian corridor, but no were created, both sides were responsible. The only way to escape was Sumy, the main city in Ukraine on the another side of the border, which Russia bombed the weekend erstwhile people attended Mass on Palm Sunday.
About 100 Russian citizens utilized evacuation there. Kiev forces active in the operation and the Russian citizen evacuated by them then told journalists “Financial Times” that The locals felt abandoned by the Russian authorities.
Not everyone survived. The Russian abroad Ministry reported in October that 70 civilians were killed, Ukraine later reported 112. Independent station 7×7 confirmed the number of 30 dead.
All over again
Isa Salimsultanov of Achmat Battalion — a unit of the Russian army founded by Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov — active in the evacuation that began after the Russians recovered the area, he told the editorial board “Financial Times” that he had transferred over 50 bodies to Kursk.
He added that civilians in Suja were treated “humanely”. However, he claimed that in the surrounding villages "the situation was tragic: older residents were forced to lie face down, humiliated, intimidated and killed". ‘Financial Times’ was incapable to independently verify his allegations against Ukraine.
The telegram channel called Salimsultanova, Russian state media and independent editorials cited residents describing rocket and drone raids on their homes. respective of them mentioned Ukrainian raids on homes as part of the search for Russian soldiers. They said any residents were forced to lie face down. Others reported looting.
— We cannot verify these claims, but we believe that there have most likely been isolated cases of looting," said Lewev.
Antipina's parents told her that Ukrainians “did not bully them.” Ukrainian soldiers who were deployed in the Kursk Oblast besides claimed that there was a calm atmosphere there.
— Honestly, I thought we'd be more aggressive. But erstwhile you see people who are just in trouble, things change. We are at war — it sucks for us. But they were in the war zone. This sucks for them, too," Vitali said.
AA/ABACA/Abaca/East News / East NewsVladimir Putin in uniform at the command post in Kursk, 12 March 2025.
He recalled that many in the Kursk region spoke Ukrainian or "surzhyk" — a circumstantial mix of Ukrainian and Russian utilized on both sides of the border. “ erstwhile we arrived, we met an older man with a scythe who greeted us in Ukrainian. We even joked: did we cross the border?
In March Putin visited the region in military uniform — it was his first journey there since the invasion of Ukraine. According to DeepState, a Ukrainian survey group associated with the Ministry of Defence, this week Ukraine controlled only about 50 sq mi in the Kursk Oblast, which was about 1,000 sq mi left last year.
Despite Russia's regaining control, this area remains unstable, and its residents shortly have no chance of returning to average life. There's inactive fire and drone attacks, and the roads are full of wrecks of vehicles and mines. In Suja, “there is an easy city to rebuild from scratch,” said Salimsultanov of the Achmat unit. - We gotta get people out of there.
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