Behind enemy lines with Ukraine’s troops in Russia

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As the Ukrainian armoured vehicle rumbled across the border into Russia’s Kursk region, one of the crew turned around and grinned broadly. Another officer said: “I’ve crossed the border quite a few times since our operation in Russia started and it feels great each time. Perhaps we should have done this a long time ago.”

The Independent accompanied the Ukrainian military over some of the hundreds of square miles of territory Kyiv has claimed during its surprise cross-border assault, which is now three weeks old. Every piece of land taken is another embarrassment for Vladimir Putin.

Our armoured personnel carrier (APC) crossed along the main road from the city of Sumy, capital of the eponymous Ukrainian region adjoining Kursk. It swayed and jolted as we careered along roads cratered by Russian artillery, rockets and glide bombs trying to hit the hundreds of Ukrainian military vehicles, moving in both directions.

The traffic included tanks, APCs, compact lightly armoured vehicles like Humvees, supply trucks, fuel tankers, pick-ups and SUVs painted olive green – many still bearing the British number plates they arrived with when donated by UK supporters. Some of the heavier vehicles, such as British Challenger tanks, American Stryker and Bradley armoured fighting vehicles, German Leopard tanks and Marder APCs, were being hauled into Russia on huge transporters.

The first buildings on the Russian side, previously used by passport and customs officials, had been turned into barracks for border guards and ill-trained conscripts who mostly fled or surrendered when the main Ukrainian forces launched their incursion on 6 August. Their flimsy walls of metal sheeting and tin roofing had been peeled back by shell blasts and peppered with machine gun bullet holes as Ukrainian forces quickly overran them.

The first town was Sudzha, a few miles from the Ukrainian border and an important road and rail hub for Moscow to supply its troops throughout the area. That includes the city of Belgorod to the southeast, key to Russian attempts to try and bludgeon Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, into submission.

The railway station in Sudzha has an access point to monitor Russia’s huge railway traffic complex, and Ukrainians are gaining much important information there as Moscow, apparently, cannot disconnect the link. Ukraine, reportedly, can also use the access to interfere with movements along Russia’s huge railway network. Ukraine now also controls an important facility in Sudzha monitoring the flow of Russian gas to western Europe in a pipeline across Ukraine.

Many buildings in Sudzha bore the scars of battle, with some buildings completely wrecked. Soldiers said shells landed daily in the town and explosions sounded constantly, testimony to the continuing fierce battles as Ukrainian forces try to advance further.

A decapitated statue of Lenin stood in front of Sudzha’s battered town hall and Oleksii Dmytrashkivskyi, an army photographer, was attaching to the plinth photographs he had taken of the destruction and atrocities committed by Russian soldiers who occupied the towns of Bucha and Irpin, near Kyiv, in the first days of the 2022 invasion.

He said his photographs had been exhibited at the US Congress and in 10 countries. “I’m putting them up in prominent places in the areas of Kursk we control so that ordinary Russians can see what their soldiers did in our country. Many of them claim they don’t have information and don’t know what happened. Some of them have complained about destruction here. What’s happened here is nothing to what they did, and are doing, in Ukraine and I want them to be able to see the images and understand what has been done in their name.”

Dmytrashkivskyi added: “I hope that they see the difference between how we are treating them and the murders, rapes and torture their soldiers committed in Ukraine.”

Most young Russians fled the areas as soon as Ukrainian forces poured across the border. But many of the older people have stayed, either because they did not have the means to leave, or have chosen not to. Most are fearful of the shelling and spend their days sheltering in basements. Others sit outside apartment blocks or waiting at distribution points for humanitarian aid distributed by the Ukrainians.

Olga, 80, who has lived in Sudzha most of her life, said she was alone as her husband and two sons had all died of illnesses over the years. Although an ethnic Russian, she spoke Ukrainian fluently because, she explained, she had spent much time across the border and had known many people there.

She said there had been no warning about the Ukrainian invasion. When it happened, local authorities urged people to leave but gave little practical help. “Nobody offered to take me out of here when the Ukrainian soldiers came, and where was I to go anyway?”

Like other Russian civilians who remained that The Independent and other journalists spoke with, Olga said she had been well-treated by the Ukrainians who were distributing food, water and medicines.

She said: “The Ukrainians have behaved correctly and no civilians have been harmed as far as I know. We haven’t had electricity, gas or water since the first days of the fighting and we rely on the Ukrainians for everything.”

But when asked what she thought about the atrocities committed by Russian soldiers in Ukraine, Olga answered in a way that seemed the standard response to Ukrainian soldiers or the media. “We don’t have information about what was going on in Ukraine so we don’t know about what was being done. We are insignificant people and nobody cares what we think. None of us wanted the war,” she said.

Olga claimed she had not voted for Vladimir Putin in Russia’s presidential elections because she thought people like her could not influence the outcome. Asked how she thought people there would greet her if she ever visited Ukraine again, her face clouded over and she began to say: “I hope there will be forgiveness, peace…” And then trailed off as if worried she was saying something that might come back to haunt her.

The Ukrainian army took The Independent and other journalists to two other towns some 12 miles from Sudzha. Crossing a river on a pontoon bridge crowded with trucks and APCs carrying men and supplies, the sounds of explosions became louder in the direction where Ukrainian forces were still pushing forward, albeit at a much slower rate than in the initial stages of the incursion.

Beyond the bridge, soldiers could be seen constructing fortifications through the small windows of the APC – a sign that the Ukrainian military did not intend to withdraw soon, even if Kyiv officials say they do not want to keep the territory they have taken permanently.

In one of the towns, people sat on benches trying to catch shade under trees from a burning sun as they waited at a school building to receive food and water.

Oleg, 38, was one of the few younger people who had stayed behind. He said: “I was told to leave by officials and friends who said the Ukrainians would mistreat me. But I stayed because I didn’t want to leave my mother who is too old to travel and was very anxious. I thought it was my duty to keep an eye on her and other older people.

“Nothing bad has happened to me and the Ukrainian soldiers have behaved politely and have even brought in doctors to look at some people who are sick.”

Pressed on what he thought about the war that Russia had launched against Ukraine, and well-documented atrocities committed by Russian soldiers, Oleg also pleaded ignorance. “We don’t have information about what’s happened,” he said. “All of us wish this war would stop. We didn’t want it.” As with the other Russians, he may be fearful of what they say to the press being monitored by the Kremlin.

One of the main aims of Ukraine’s incursion into Kursk was to force the Russians to redeploy troops from eastern and southeastern Ukraine to change the difficult battlefield there for Kyiv. But there has been little sign of a mass redeployment, although Ukrainian officials have said thousands of Russian troops have been moved.

Ukrainian soldiers told The Independent they were happy about the operation. Ihor, 38, from Zhytomyr, the driver of an APC, said his unit had been fighting on the eastern front line since the start of the Russian invasion in 2022.

“We didn’t know anything was being planned but a few days before it happened our commander addressed all of us,” Ihor said. “The unit was going to Russia – our commander didn’t say where – but told us that if anyone did not want to go they could declare themselves sick or give urgent family reasons to take leave.

“He said he would not hold it against anyone if they didn’t want to come but he wanted to be sure that everyone who was coming wanted to do so and would obey his orders without question because it was going to be a very tough mission.”

“Nobody declined to go and we are all proud to be part of this operation. It’s lifted morale and we believe it will improve our chances of success in the war,” he added.

Kyiv says that the Kursk operation has pushed the Russians back and decreased the number of attacks on Ukraine’s Sumy region which borders Kursk as it is more difficult for Russia’s weapons to get into range.

That is probably true for “tube artillery” such as Soviet-era 122mm and 152mm cannon with a range of around 18 miles. But while some of Sumy may now be out of range, there was little evidence of an overall decrease while The Independent was in the region for the previous 12 days.

Ukraine’s incursion into Kursk has been a massive humiliation for Putin as it has destroyed the idea that he is the only person capable of defending Russia. Every day Moscow’s forces fail to push the Ukrainians out of Kursk, Putin’s humiliation increases. His fury appears clear. This week, Ukraine suffered some of the largest missile attacks since the start of the full-blown war.

One undoubted success of the operation has been that Kyiv’s forces have captured a large number of Russian soldiers – they say more than 3,000 Russian prisoners of war (PoW) can be exchanged for many Ukrainians. At the weekend Ukraine traded 115 Russian PoWs for 115 Ukrainian captives.

For another APC driver, Stefko, 42, the merits of the Kursk attack are clear. He said that a year ago his 20-year-old son had been killed serving in Ukraine’s armed forces, adding: “I had spoken to him just a few days before... I was already serving in the army and will carry on until I die or we win. We should have launched an operation like this long ago to bring the war to the [Russians]. I only wish my son would have seen it.”