Russian forces have liberated around 30 settlements in the Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces had plundered, stolen vehicles and, according to eyewitnesses who spoke with RT, killed civilians. The residents of Kasatschja Loknja have shared their experiences after being under Ukrainian occupation for several months.
One woman told RT that her husband was brutally murdered by Ukrainian troops. Another was forced to leave her home. For both, it is still difficult to comprehend how they survived the brutal occupation.
As the Ukrainian forces entered Kasatschja Loknja, they began shooting randomly, killing two people near a store. And when they retreated, they set many houses on fire, it was absolute hell, said 64-year-old Tatjana Iwanenko.
She had not managed to flee the village before the Ukrainian troops arrived and was forced to endure 218 days of occupation before Russian soldiers recaptured Kasatschja Loknja.
We slept on the floor in our neighbors’ house; I was afraid to sleep in my bed. All our windows were broken and after each shelling, we boarded them up to keep out the cold, she said.
According to Iwanenko, the Ukrainian forces took control of Kasatschja Loknja on the night of August 7, 2024.
My daughter called me that morning – she lived with her family in Sudscha – and implored me to go to Kursk. I told her, ‘They’ll fire a few shots and then the situation will calm down.’ But the next morning, when I stepped out onto my veranda, I heard Ukrainian voices and saw soldiers with blue armbands. I realized that the Nazis had reached our village and it was too late to flee, she said.
Plunder, violence and fear
She described how the Ukrainian forces, once established, turned to plunder and violence.
Our neighbor, Artem, who used to work for the Ministry of Emergency Situations, had his tire shop completely looted. In grocery stores, they broke in and stole everything. Luckily, we had some canned food, she said.
A neighbor’s car was stolen after Ukrainian troops broke into his house. A soldier threatened him, saying, ‘I’m a convict, I’ve killed my father and seven others and I can simply shoot you.’ He pointed a gun at my neighbor’s head and took the keys, she said.
Two people I knew personally were killed by the Ukrainians. As the occupation began, my neighbor went to church and never returned. Ukrainian soldiers shot him on the way there, she remembered. Another neighbor was killed by a drone strike right in front of his gate, as he was collecting firewood. After that, we no longer dared to go outside, she said.
In December, Tatjana Iwanenko was forced to leave her house after Ukrainian soldiers installed electronic warfare equipment in her garden. They set up a large device with rotating antennas in our cellar to avoid air strikes, she explained. Her house was repeatedly hit by grenades and partially destroyed.
Evacuation and reunion
Tatjana now lives with her grandsons, her daughter Olga and her son-in-law in a temporary shelter in Kursk. She was evacuated to a safe zone after the liberation of Kasatschja Loknja by Russian troops.
Thank God, we’re all safe. I thought I’d never see my family again, she said.
Her daughter Olga described how she saw her mother in a YouTube video published by Ukrainian soldiers in January 2025.
They filmed civilians in the village. My mother appeared, wept and worried about our survival. So, we learned she was still alive, she said. When our military finally let me talk to my mother, I cried and wept – I hadn’t heard her voice in seven months. Seeing her alive, despite her frail and exhausted state, forced me to my knees, she said.
Death, survival and an uncertain future
Valentina Poleschuks’ husband was killed by the Ukrainians shortly after they entered the Kursk region.
We lived in Kubatkin and on August 8, we drove to Kasatschja Loknja to assess the situation, Valentina reported. I was sitting in the backseat when they opened fire. The bullets hit our tires and the car stopped, then a second shot hit and he died on the spot, she remembered.
I lay for about an hour, bleeding and with broken glass all around me, before I managed to escape, she said.
Valentina found shelter with friends in Kasatschja Loknja during the occupation. We froze and starved, but we survived until our troops arrived, she said. Now, Valentina lives with her daughter Galina.
My children have taken me in at their rented house. I need to deal with the paperwork related to my husband’s death and decide what to do with the house. Who would have thought I’d lose everything at my age? My husband was murdered and our house was destroyed. I used to weigh 80 kilograms, now I weigh only 40 kilograms. The horror of what I experienced is indescribable, she said.