Ukrainian Military provides shelter to abandoned elderly Russians in Sudzha
The Ukrainian military has set up a shelter for the elderly in Sudzha. They are being evacuated here from the entire territory of the Kursk region. During the raids in captured settlements, soldiers regularly find lonely elderly locals so exhausted that they can no longer take care of themselves. If desired, they are transported to a shelter with bare minimum covered, such as food and basic living conditions.
The Ukrainian military evacuated an elderly couple from the almost-destroyed Malaya Loknya. A man and his wife, over 70 years old, lived in a cellar for three months. When the military came upon them, the couple lacked the strength to get out from under the ground.
“We couldn’t go outside for weeks. Please let our children know. My daughter, we are alive with our father… We – Valentina Nikolaevna Ushkalova and Aleksandr Anatoliyovych Ushkalov, were sitting in the cellar; we were found by the soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and pulled out of the basement. They saved us, brought us here. There wasn’t even anything to drink; the water was like gold,” says the woman.
Most of the rescued residents are clueless about their their relatives’ location and ask for help in finding them.
Natalia is lying by the window; she struggles with breathing. A woman complains of a fever and a deep cough. Despite warmth and care, there is not enough treatment due to attacks. The shelter provided sanitary care, clean clothes, and regular meals. However, the Ukrainian side is currently refraining from evacuating the local population for the provision of medical aid due to security and international law concerns. Therefore, the military helps the locals with maximum effort by providing drinking water and heating points.
The Ukrainian military is not trying to change the mindset of the local population. Soldiers are not engaged in re-educating Russians to choose pro-Ukrainian side, assures the Speaker of the operational grouping of troops “Pivnich” Vadym Mysnyk.
“We don’t touch anything. We have even seen the [memorial] plaques of those [Russian soldiers] who died in Ukraine, but we do not touch them. These monuments are dated back to the Second World War. These are their sights, their heritage. These people should choose the country’s fate judging by the war’s results,” says the military spokesman, approaching the Sudzha municipal building.
Читати також: Farmers in war-torn Kharkiv region face economic battlefield
Many civilians remain in the Ukrainian-controlled part of the Kursk region. In some localities, hundreds decided to stay. Most of them are older adults who have been hiding in basements for weeks now from Russian shelling. Most of the younger citizens fled as soon as Ukrainian forces crossed the border. They were not particularly concerned with the fate of the older generation and left the care of the elderly to Ukrainians.
One of them, Olga, says:
“The Ukrainians behaved politely, and as far as I know, none of the civilians were injured. Since the first days of the fighting, we have had no electricity, gas, or water, so we rely on the Ukrainians for everything.”
Author: Yevhen Titov
