What does the town of Sudzha, which is controlled by the Ukrainian military, look like now? hromadske exclusive

Lonely locals wander through the streets, complaining that the Russian authorities have left them to their own devices without worrying about evacuation. The town was not particularly damaged. The town council, the post office and the cultural center were abandoned by the Russians during the retreat. The supermarket of a popular Russian chain is not working.

At a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on August 14, Minister of Reintegration Iryna Vereshchuk noted that Russian civilians remain in the part of Kursk Oblast controlled by the Ukrainian military.

The minister stressed that Ukraine complies with international humanitarian law, which means the need to conduct humanitarian operations to support civilians.

Therefore, according to her, the Defense Forces plan to allow international humanitarian organizations to the areas of Kursk Oblast that they control, as well as to open humanitarian corridors - both towards Russia and Ukraine.

Earlier, the spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Heorhiy Tykhyi, noted that Ukraine is not interested in taking the territories of Kursk Oblast from Russia. The operation is about freeing the border from the Russian contingent that is shelling Ukrainian lands.

More about Sudzha

In the 12th century, the Sudzha district was part of the Rylsk Principality, which was part of the Chernihiv Principality and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

Subsequently, the Muscovite state seized the lands of Wild Field, where the modern parts of the Kursk, Belgorod, and Voronezh oblasts are now located, and began to call on Ukrainians to settle in these territories.

In the 17th century, a Cossack hundred of the Sumy Cossack Regiment was stationed in the town. Hetmans of Ukraine used to come here for negotiations.

Since 1708, Sudzha was assigned to the Kyiv province, until in 1797 the imperial authorities created a new Kursk province. According to the census of 1897, 7,433 people lived in the town, of which 61.16% indicated Ukrainian as their native language.

Sudzha was the capital of the Ukrainian SSR for almost a month - from November 29 to December 27, 1918. And in December 1922, the town was passed to the Russian SFSR. According to the results of the 2020 census, 96% of the population of Sudzha identified themselves as ethnic Russians.

More about events in Kursk Oblast

The first unofficial reports of a border breach in Kursk Oblast appeared on August 7. Against this background, the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, pointed to a "large-scale provocation" by Ukraine.

Russia has already declared an "counter-terrorist operation" in the Belgorod, Bryansk and Kursk oblasts. According to analysts, this wording was chosen in order not to sow more panic among the population.

The Russian opposition outlet Verstka wrote that there are currently no plans to introduce martial law in Kursk Oblast in order "not to disturb the people". Although locals are evacuating from the border.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy acknowledged the fighting in Kursk Oblast for the first time on August 12, saying that 1,000 km² of territory is already under the control of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to the Washington Post, Ukraine now controls the Sudzha gas metering station, located approximately 8 kilometers deep into Russia.

In a report to the president on August 13, the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said that the Ukrainian military advanced in Kursk Oblast in separate directions from 1 to 3 kilometers. Currently, they control 74 settlements in this region.

On the morning of August 14, General Syrskyi reported to Zelenskyy that the Ukrainian military had completely cleared the town of Sudzha, Kursk Oblast, from the enemy.