Marina and her family fled their village after Ukrainian troops crossed the border into Russia in August 2024 and launched a surprise incursion into the region north of the Donbass, which is under Russian occupation.
Similar to Marina, thousands of locals left their homes, seeking refuge in nearby villages and towns, away from the conflict zone.
Ukraine’s incursion into the Russian territory caught Moscow off guard and has since become a military embarrassment for Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin. For seven months, Ukrainian troops occupied parts of the region, including the town of Sudzha. The long stalemate resulted in a humanitarian disaster and personal tragedy for thousands of locals.
On April 26, the Russian military claimed full control of the Kursk region, but the Ukrainian army dismissed these claims, calling them “propaganda tricks.” It remains unclear whether Ukraine’s military is still present in certain parts of the Kursk region. The situation remains tense.
Living under Ukrainian control
Anastasia and her family left Sudzha on the first day of the incursion. The town is just 10 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. Aside from many smaller villages, Sudzha was the only town captured by Ukraine. The Russian military reclaimed it in March of this year.
Like Anastasia, most of the locals fled, and the town experienced some of the most intense fighting since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Heavy shelling left the town in ruins, with mines scattered across the streets.
Some locals, such as Anastasia’s uncle, chose to stay. “He either died or was killed. I don’t know exactly,” Anastasia told DW, adding that she had no information about whether he had received a funeral. Anastasia and her family have been unable to return to Sudzha.
Russian independent and state media have reported cases of looting in the Kursk region. Some residents told DW that their cars had been stolen, but it was uncertain which military was responsible.
Russia accuses Ukraine’s military of “committing war crimes” in the Kursk region, but no credible evidence has been provided to support the allegations.
“We know that the armed forces of Ukraine always try to resolve humanitarian issues related to local civilians, regardless of their citizenship,” said Pavel Luzin, a visiting scholar at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in the US.
In contrast, the UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine has accused Russia of systematically committing war crimes, including torture, sexual violence, and child deportations. In January, the UN estimated that over 12,300 civilians in Ukraine had been killed since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022.
Residents feel abandoned by the state
Following Ukraine’s incursion, many felt they had been left to fend for themselves.
“Please convey the message to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin that nobody needs us,” one local woman pleaded in a video shared by the Telegram channel Ostorozhno, Novosti in August.
Despite the perceived lack of immediate support for Kursk residents from the Russian government, Russian state media portrayed the unfolding humanitarian crisis as a time when Russians came together to support those in need.
Some refugees confirmed to DW that they received support from the state, but others said the Kremlin neglected displaced people in Kursk and failed to fulfill its promises.
“They talk and promise more than they do. Reality is different,” Nadezhda, another resident of Kursk, told DW.
The Russian authorities reject this criticism, suggesting that people are ungrateful.
“It seems like before 2022, you were living on an uninhabited island, with no roads, hospitals, schools… that it was not the government who was paying your pension, that it just came out of nowhere,” said Alexander Khinshtein, the current governor of the Kursk region, defending Moscow’s dedication to the region in a meeting with Kursk locals last December.
Do locals empathize with Ukrainians under Russian occupation?
Many Kursk residents blame the Ukraine military for bringing suffering and destruction to their land and praise Russian soldiers for their “liberation,” while some quietly dissent and hold Putin responsible for starting the war.
“[People say], ‘Thank you, Vladimir Vladimirovich, for starting a special military operation in Ukraine; otherwise, there would be a war [in Russia],'” Vitaliy, a Kursk resident who fled the region but stayed in Russia, told DW, referring to locals who believe the Russian state media narrative that there is no war in Ukraine but a military operation aimed at protecting Russia’s security.
“Many still don’t realize where the root of evil lies and who brought death to their homes,” Vitaliy added.
Since Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, its support of pro-Russian rebels in Luhansk and Donetsk, and its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, millions of Ukrainians now live under Russian occupation.
“Poor, unhappy people, they are not guilty, as we are not now,” Marina told DW. “I feel sorry for them and for us, too. We are ordinary people. We did not want the bloodshed.”
Others, however, do not want to discuss the issue.
“I don’t want to feel anything towards [Ukrainians]. I just want to detach myself from this and live my life,” Nadezhda, another Kursk resident, told DW.
Is there a way back home for Russian refugees?
Despite Russia regaining control of the region, drones, shelling, and sirens remain a daily occurrence in some parts of Kursk, especially near the Ukraine border.
According to Russian authorities, at least 191 civilians have died in the Kursk region since Ukraine launched its incursion last August. Independent Russian media Agentstvo and 7×7 identified 70 civilian deaths.
Russia’s Interior Ministry claims that about 2,000 Kursk residents are still missing.
Many locals have confirmed to DW that their houses have been destroyed. Others who want to return are unsure whether their homes still exist. Most refugees remain unable to return home due to safety concerns.
“We would like to [return to Sudzha], if there is anything to return to,” Anastasia told DW. However, she, too, is unsure whether her house was destroyed during heavy fighting between Russian and Ukrainian troops.
Edited by: Andreas Ilmer
