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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Kursk II: On the streets are cemeteries of NATO equipment, and in the destroyed and looted houses are people, living and dead |
| 2025-03-20 |
| By Aleksandr Kots [KP] Komsomolskaya Pravda war correspondent Aleksandr Kots on the streets of Sudzha. “Exactly here,” the head of the non-profit organization “Patriot” Alexey Spiridonov gloomily states, having climbed up to the second floor of the Goncharovka hospital, near Sudzha. Once you smell this smell, you will never confuse it with anything else. For the fifth day, the organization's activists have been literally under fire taking civilians from the liberated city and its outskirts to the rear. And along the way, they are checking the information that the relatives of the missing are transmitting. At one of the points, there should be the body of a young pregnant woman who was shot in August last year by Ukrainian soldiers. They had to climb in through a window — the entrance was blocked up. On the first floor of the civilian hospital, judging by the boxes of grenades and anti-tank systems, the occupiers had set up an ammunition depot. There were signs of life here, too. But they most likely lived in the basement. The second floor looked like it had been hit by a hurricane — overturned medical cabinets and beds in the treatment rooms and wards. The smell of decomposition was coming from the gynecology department. Nina Kuznetsova was brought here with bullet wounds on August 7 last year. And here she was last seen by her husband, who had taken the family from Kurilovka to the rear, but the car was shot at point-blank range by a man with a blue ribbon on his helmet. With his wounded son and mother-in-law, Artem finally escaped to the rear to return for his wife later. But there was no turning back… DISMISSED DISTRICT HEAD LEFT TO FIGHT The only way to get to Goncharovka today is on foot. Early in the morning we meet Alexey Spiridonov. His organization was created in 2022 - youth education, military-patriotic work, training in tactical medicine... As if they already knew back then what would come in handy. Last August, Patriot activists, while it was possible, evacuated civilians from the invasion zone, literally from under the noses of the "defenders". Today they have returned to the liberated territories to help their fellow countrymen get to the "mainland". Alexey's companion is Alexander Bogachev, who was fired from his post as head of the Sudzhansky district last year. Until August 10, 2024, he was also involved in the evacuation of people. And in November, he was accused of not working closely enough with the population, which demanded housing certificates. Then everything sparked, everyone was very nervous, and Alexander wrote a statement. And then he signed a military contract, and today he serves in the Veterans brigade. By the way, as a local resident, he participated in the planning of Operation Potok (when hundreds of fighters reached the rear of the Ukrainian Armed Forces near Sudzha via a gas pipeline), since he knows the area where it was taking place in detail. In addition to the addresses that need to be visited, Bogachev also wants to take a look at his own house in Goncharovka, which he has not been to since that black August. The central part of Sudzha can only be reached via a river, the bridges over which were blown up during our offensive. Now the crossing is a few boulders in a stream of water, with boards and railings thrown over them. You cross over like an equilibrist, and immediately fly into the nearest yard - a drone buzzes hysterically from above, as if diving. - Yes, you should stand under the visor, - the woman who came out advises from experience. - It will fly by - he won't notice. RED HAT The neighbors come out to the noise. Alexey and Alexander call them to the evacuation point. They doubt it. The men tell them about temporary accommodation points, electricity, hot meals, and compensation payments. I can see from their eyes that for people who lived through the occupation, this sounds like science fiction. - Of course we waited for our own, we waited. Seven months of struggling for existence. Getting water, coal, food... They broke into all the stores and allowed us to take from there. Like homeless people, - there is resentment in their voices. And then the nature of their mistrust dawns on me. The woman, dressed for the occasion of the guests' visit in her brown fur coat and red hat (which seem like an alien wardrobe here), shoots me a question with a piercing look: - Why didn't you give us a "green corridor" to get to Kursk? And the hohols were taken to Sumy. She, of course, does not know that all these months our diplomats, humanitarian workers, ombudsmen tried to negotiate with Kiev about the withdrawal of all our people to the Motherland. But Ukraine refused. Only twice did they manage to take several dozen people through Belarus to Russia. The rest were needed by the Armed Forces of Ukraine as hostages and human shields. The residents of Sudzha were made into a propaganda tool for the Western media. And, of course, they tried to brainwash them with lies about the country that abandoned them to their fate. And does not think of returning them. Although this is not true. Many good soldiers laid down their lives in order to return our citizens. And those liberated in the Kursk region have yet to realize this. And to understand what fate befell their fellow countrymen in places where overseas reporters did not get to. For example, in Russkoye Porechny. BROKEN CITY - This is the central part of Sudzha. On the left is the so-called House of Pioneers, they started a major overhaul here, but unfortunately, they didn’t have time. Further on is a school located in four buildings. Here is one, here we see the second one, it is damaged. Next to it is also the pearl of our region - the first sports complex. Unfortunately, it is destroyed, - Alexander Bogachev leads the tour and seems to record the lost things for himself. - We only had three of them, plus an ice arena and a swimming pool. Unfortunately, all three are already damaged. Two of them are almost destroyed. We walk along a block of disfigured buildings. Along the street are iron roof sheets and corrugated sheets twisted into tubes, and underfoot are broken glass and bricks. Stacks of new tiles are illogically laid out along the alley. - This is one of the central streets, Pervomayaya Street. Last year, reconstruction was planned here under the national project "Small Cities of Russia", - explains Bogachev. - They planned to decorate the city here. This is the police building. There is a private sector, a library, shops. Everything, as we can see, is in a deplorable state. But let's hope that we will rebuild everything. An elderly man with a bicycle walks by. He is also called to evacuate, but like many others, he refuses. He is afraid to leave his home. I ask him how life was with uninvited guests. - They took away my carbine, my double-barreled shotgun, my Niva. I said, "Why are you taking it? What are your arguments?" And he pointed to the 5.45 automatic rifle - that's my argument. They took the car and drove off. And it's like that for many people, - says Vasily Sergeyevich Tarasov. HOUSES TURNED INSIDE OUT And we move on, studying the rock paintings of the fleeing "defenders". On the gates and houses, the Ukrainians left messages: "Ukraine above all", "Don't lick", "SBU. Occupied", "Counterintelligence", "Occupied. The whole street". The VSSU officers settled under the houses of the residents of Sudzha and the surrounding settlements. And when leaving, they turned them inside out, taking out all valuables. I did not find a TV or microwave in a single hut or apartment. - Why don’t people want to leave even from such conditions? - I ask Alexey Spiridonov. - Farm. Cats, dogs, chickens, pigs. They don't want to leave. And you can't persuade them, - he sighs. - Yesterday a woman was wounded in the chest, her arm was rotten. There was another woman, wounded in both legs, something flew into the house, she lay there for three months, her sister bandaged her. We had to persuade her to leave to save her life, because there was already suppuration there. We took out about 300 people in four days. And those who remain order medicine, bread. Every day we walk 20 kilometers to all the houses. TROPHY COLUMN ON PEACE STREET We continue walking towards Goncharovka, informing the Sudzhans we meet (the rules allow both Sudzhans and Sudzhans, but the locals use the latter) about the evacuation point and time. Oleg Skripnik does not want to go, saying that there are people weaker than him. He sends greetings to Kristina Kirillova, his son Slava, and Alena Andreevna. Grandfather, who clearly has Parkinson's syndrome, also wants to stay. Alexander Bogachev knows him. He used to live in Makhnovka, but his house was destroyed during the Ukrainian shelling in 2023. Then, through the governor, they bought him a new one, in the Podol area. Now he holds on to it, overcoming the tremors of his hands, afraid to throw it away. Goncharovka is located right above the road that connects it with Sudzha across the field. It is on a hill, and storming it was quite a task. At the top, the Ukrainians dug trenches and firing positions that could be reached directly from the houses, in the basements of which they lived. They also set up an ammunition depot here. In one of the garages, we find a workshop for the Ukrainian Armed Forces' drones. Apparently, they stored bombs for "Baba Yaga" here - heavy drones, the boxes of which are lying around in the street. In another yard, there is a warehouse of American 120-mm mortar shells. In a third with the inscription "SBU" on the fence, some Ukrainian "chekist" defeated a photo of a young guy in a marine uniform by piercing his eye and drawing on his genitals. As they say, each has his own pain. Sloboda has become a real cemetery for NATO equipment. The concentration of burnt MaxxPros, Strikers, Kirpis, Humvees and other auto junk here is simply phenomenal. On Mira Street, our drone crews burned an entire column of foreign iron at once. Here and there are broken pickups. Some have Polish license plates. A TERRIBLE FIND Alexey and Alexander go around the courtyards. But they can't find any civilians yet. We approach the hospital, near which stands a burnt-out Ukrainian armored personnel carrier. Remember the tragic story of Nina Kuznetsova? On August 7, 30-year-old Artem Kuznetsov and 27-year-old Nina Kuznetsova with her child and grandmother were driving in two cars from Kurilovka to Kursk. Artem was in the first car, Nina (two months pregnant) with her son and mother was in the second. The first car passed, and machine gun fire started at the second. Artem saw a shooter with a blue ribbon on his helmet. The second car crashes into the first. The father of the family runs out to help everyone into his car. The child is injured, the wife is unconscious… On three whole wheels they reach the hospital in Goncharovka. Artem left his wife with the doctors and took the family further. He could not return. On March 16, together with the head of the ANO Patriot, Aleksey Spiridonov, and the former head of the Sudzhansky District, Aleksandr Bogachev, we discover the body of a woman on the second floor of the hospital. She is lying on a stretcher on the floor of the gynecology department with her arms outstretched. There is a tattoo on her shoulder. Exactly like Nina Kuznetsova's. There is her ring on her ring finger. Her relatives will finally be able to bury their beloved... Nina Kuznetsova was quickly identified by her tattoo. EVEN CHILDREN'S PIGGY BANKS WERE EMPTIED All the tasks for the day are done and Aleksandr Bogachev goes to his house. There are three of them identical - they were built with their own hands with relatives according to the same project. It is already clear from afar that the houses have been badly damaged. Aleksandr's load-bearing wall has been destroyed. He walks through his rooms, which have been turned upside down. There is a bedroom, there is a nursery, there are gutted toy piggy banks and boxes from women's jewelry lying around. A 5-liter bottle of whiskey was dragged from somewhere. It stands empty. Apparently, they were whiling away the time before robbing. Bogachev carefully picks up his wife's portrait from the floor, pierced by shrapnel, shakes off the dust, and leans it against the wall. It is difficult to imagine what range of emotions he is experiencing now. I do not know what claims the Sudzhans have against him now. Or whether they had any. But he honestly evacuated people in August, he is doing it now, his father spent seven months under occupation and he himself lost his home, like many of his fellow countrymen. In Hamburg terms, he differs little from them today, except perhaps in his status as a military man. On the way back we hear screams. On one of the streets, an old man with a bloody neck stands over his elderly neighbor who is lying down with a lacerated wound on his hand. He can't get up, he says there's something wrong with his leg. Alexey Spiridonov bandages his hand, pulls down the wounded man's pants a little to inject him with painkiller, and there are shrapnel. And in his leg, it seems. They don't understand what hit him. Most likely, a drop from a copter. “Gather your documents, we’re going to Kursk,” he sternly commands the walking old man and helps the bedridden one. Naturally, he doesn't want to go anywhere. The recumbent one doesn't want to go anywhere either. Threats and some swearing are used. The walking one reluctantly goes into the hut and returns with a bag of medicine: "I won't go without them." We pull out a garden cart with inflatable wheels from the neighboring yard, put blankets in it, and put the old man with a white face on it. Alexey takes the handles and pushes it forward: "And so it is every day," the head of "Patriot" smiles. We walk at the rear, urging the old man with a piece of shrapnel stuck in his throat - he tries to lag behind and "run away" home. Spiridonov no longer pays attention to the constantly buzzing air, puffs and pushes the cart to the crossing. Machine gunners are trying to shoot down another flying drone. From the other side, fighters run up with a stretcher, onto which we transfer the old man. Knee-deep in turbulent water, he is carried to the other shore. The volunteers immediately cut the trouser leg. There are about ten pieces of shrapnel in his left leg, he will hardly pull it out without professional help. They put a bandage on his friend's throat. Meanwhile, Spiridonov rushes in his SUV to the jump base, from where he returns with an armored minibus. In it, the elderly friends are taken to the rear, where, fifty kilometers from here, doctors and the Ministry of Emergency Situations are on duty, intercepting people taken out of Sudzha and its environs by volunteers. Tomorrow, together with Bogachev and others, they will return here to continue. Until the last inch of land is liberated. And the last fellow countryman is safe. P.S. Nina Kuznetsova's body was taken away the next day. Grandpa, with a leg wound, was left in Kursk. His comrade, who resisted the evacuation the most and walked out on foot, was taken to Moscow, to Vishnevsky Hospital. The wound turned out to be more serious than it looked. A life can be saved with a strong word and such-and-such a mother. |
| Posted by:badanov |