In Ukraine-controlled Sudzha, stranded Russian civilians question what’s next

Post reporters traveled to Sudzha, Russia, where Ukrainian soldiers now hold territory and Russian civilians are braving the war. For Ukrainian forces on the ground, the offensive is seen less as a conquest for long-term annexation and more as a negotiating tactic. SUDZHA, Russia — The blue and yellow lines painted on two signposts at the entrance to this Russian town offered unmistakable evidence that some citizens of Russia are living under Kyiv’s control and Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine is really not going as planned. On Saturday afternoon, 11 days after Ukrainian forces crossed into this Russian border region, soldiers patrolled Sudzha’s damaged streets with bright blue tape on their arms, scanning the sky for incoming drones. Graffiti covered the front of a store, renaming it “ATB,” a popular Ukrainian grocery chain. Russian flags had been removed from administration buildings, but blue-and-yellow Ukrainian ones were not flying. Advertisement Russian civilians — most of whom are elderly or disabled — slept on the basement floor of a former school or sat quietly in its courtyard, where troops handed them water and food. Village houses appeared largely intact, but buildings in the center of Sudzha, a town of 5,000 people, were badly damaged by bombs and shelling. One older woman cried, begging for a humanitarian corridor to the Russian-controlled city of Kursk. Still, Ukrainian forces continue to press forward and destroy critical infrastructure to prevent Russian troop advantages. Advertisement For the forces on the ground, and for many across Ukraine, the incursion is seen as a vitally important tactic to prevent Putin from trying to freeze the conflict to Ukraine’s disadvantage. “I think this is temporary,” said Boxer, 28, a drone unit commander who helped plan the attack. He was speaking from the underground bunker inside Russia where he now lives, which just two weeks ago was home to Russian conscripts. “I think everyone, including our command, thinks this is being done to end the war.” He is from the city of Enerhodar, which fell to Russia in March 2022. “I hope that this operation will help us return home sooner,” he added. “Because all this is great, but I already want to go home.” Two and a half years after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Kyiv’s forces launched a surprise offensive over the border into Russia’s Kursk region on Aug. 6, catching Russian troops, including many inexperienced conscripts, off-guard. Ukraine has since seized hundreds of Russian troops as prisoners of war and around 400 square miles of Russian territory, putting immense pressure on Putin, who has attempted to shield ordinary Russians from the impact of his war in Ukraine. In his nightly remarks Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the operation in Russia’s Kursk region intended to create “a buffer zone on the aggressor’s territory.” Advertisement Post journalists traveled to two locations inside Ukrainian-controlled Russia with Ukrainian troops on Saturday. The conditions of the visit were that The Post would identify soldiers by their first name or call sign, in keeping with military rules, and would not reveal sensitive locations. The journalists traveled in two vehicles, accompanied by Ukrainian troops. As the cars passed through the now-destroyed border crossing where Ukraine overwhelmed Russian forces early on Aug. 6, one soldier who goes by the call sign Crim, for his native Crimea, turned to the reporters and smiled. “Welcome to Russia,” he said. Troops warned that the road was mined, that Russian soldiers hiding in the woods could stage an ambush and that Russia regularly launches Lancet attack drones and drops glide bombs in the area. They first bound their hands and covered their eyes but later gave them cigarettes, before passing them to Ukrainian counterintelligence. “I explained to them in Russian that we are not like them,” he said, “and that nothing would happen to them.” At the unit’s bunker position, about 30 minutes from Sudzha, Ukrainian troops walked around calmly outside, cooking dumplings and checking their phones on Starlink. Downstairs, Ukrainian helmets and vests were piled on the shelves next to bunk beds where Russian troops used to sleep. The Russians’ personal items were still strewn about: cutlery, a guitar and religious books, including prayers for soldiers. Above the sink, one had scrawled, “Good evening, we are from Ukraine.” Another wrote: “Clean up the sink after yourself. Be a cool guy.” Boxer said the troops are eating high-end Swedish rations — including pasta with octopus — and feeding the leftover Russian supplies to the animals outside, including a pig. Advertisement On the drive to Sudzha, Boxer asked one of his soldiers, Valeriy, 48, to provide top cover for the group traveling in a Canadian armored personnel carrier by manning a M2 Browning heavy machine gun from the rooftop hatch in the vehicle. “Keep a close eye on the forest and shoot down anything you see,” Boxer told him as everyone piled in. Once inside the city, everyone was told to listen closely to Boxer’s instructions. “When I say ‘drone,’ everyone gets undercover, under the trees,” he said. Women standing outside said they are being provided medicine, food and other aid, and thanked the Ukrainian soldiers. Despite the war raging just over the border in Ukraine, they never imagined it would come to them. We can’t wrap our heads around it,” said Liudmila, 45, who, like other Russian civilians in this story, spoke on the condition that only her first name be used out of fear of reprisal. “Let Putin make an agreement with your Zelensky,” said Marina, 57, addressing the Ukrainian forces escorting Post journalists in the town. “We really want some kind of agreement, guys. You’ve come to us, thank you, you’re treating us very well. We want things to be resolved in a good way.” Boxer told them about his hometown, shelled and occupied by Russians. He has served in the military since he was 18, when Russia first invaded Ukraine and annexed Crimea in 2014. “Well, I think we’re just innocent civilians,” Marina replied. Advertisement “I used to think that, too, when we were civilians,” he replied. “We have a request: Photograph our Sudzha and send it to Putin,” said Tamara, 65. “Show this to our president, let him see.” “We want peace and harmony,” Marina said. Please help us, help us.” A water delivery truck pulled into the courtyard, and the women lined up with plastic bottles. Although they did not claim to be mistreated by Ukrainian troops, Russian civilians have not been spared the indignities of war that many Ukrainians have experienced for years. When asked how he was doing, a man named Stanislav, pointing to his disabled son, who is 47, replied: “What do you think, it is good in the basement?” When asked how many toilets they have, he replied: “A bucket.” Despite heavy fighting in recent days, Post reporters heard only one small explosion in Sudzha. There is no electricity, and in each room, civilians were crammed onto mattresses in the dark, squinting as journalists walked by with headlamps and flashlights. In one room, a small, immobile woman named Valentina, 75, who was clutching her own flashlight, called out from her mattress for help. Another elderly woman, Olga, 93, had fallen near the door and needed help, she said. Another Ukrainian soldier had also helped her, she said, carrying her in his arms from her house to his vehicle, and then downstairs into the shelter. Such a kind person,” she said. It was a gift from Ukrainian soldiers, she said. “We’re begging you, we’re begging you, for some kind of arrangement so that we can leave here, please. We’re asking you,” she said to journalists as Ukrainian troops rushed them out of the building, urging them to return across the border to Ukraine before sunset. When asked where she wanted to go, she replied: “At least to Kursk,” the Russian-controlled city some 75 miles away. Outside, the soldiers again scanned the sky for drones, then piled everyone back into the armored vehicle to return to their base. From there, they escorted Post journalists back to Ukraine. They said it marked the entrance to and exit from Russia, which they called “the Nazi state.” Over the border, smoke still rose on all sides. – This Summarize was created by Neural News AI (V1). Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/08/18/ukraine-russia-sudzha-kursk/