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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Rescued from Sudzha: the occupiers took everything, even panties and bras |
| 2025-03-16 |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Marina Akhmedova [REGNUM] Valentina Glushchenko was evacuated from the Sudzhansky district after the successful actions of our armed forces, clearing the Kursk region of the enemy. Valentina Vasilievna told the editor-in-chief of the Regnum news agency, Marina Akhmedova , about how she survived the occupation. — Valentina Vasilievna, how did you find out about the beginning of the Ukrainian invasion? — I didn’t even know the war had started. Everyone had left, and I was left alone with my 94-year-old mother. After a stroke, she couldn’t speak. She died on November 8. I buried her right next to her house. Of course, my neighbors helped me, but I mostly did everything myself. When the VSSU looted the stores, we also stole food and water from there. — Did you see the VSEU members in person? - Of course. They went door to door. Once they brought a journalist with them, who asked how I felt about Putin. I asked in response: "And what do you think of Zelensky?" He looked at me and said that he had a good attitude and supported him. I said: "I am for peace and a speedy end to the war. I will not tell you anything else." — Were you scared at that moment? — I'm so old that I'm not afraid of anything anymore. It was scary when they pointed a machine gun at me and said, "Grandma, sit quietly." They were breaking down doors, going into apartments and robbing everything there was. I lived on the first floor, and they were going to go to the second. I said, "Guys, please don't go there, there's no one there anymore." But they still went up and completely cleaned out all four apartments. They took everything, right down to panties and bras. But they mostly wanted electronics. That is, first they looted all the appliance stores, then clothing stores, then grocery stores, and then they went into people's apartments. They took some money and phones so that they wouldn't call. And then they immediately cut off all communication. — When the VSSU officers entered these apartments, were they at least empty? - Yes. People left. Many left before the war. There was also a young man living above me who signed a contract and went to the front, he has been there for three years already. As for the rest of the neighbors, I knew nothing at all. I only learned about the invasion from the VSSU. — Were you shocked when the military came to you, and you realized that they were not ours, but Ukrainians? - They said it like that: “We are Ukrainians.” I was so shocked that I couldn’t even talk to them normally. I heard someone fiddling around in the entryway. I looked through the peephole and saw people in uniform: "Open the doors, or we'll shoot." I said: "I won't." "Open the doors, or I'll shoot." I opened them, what else could I do? If he had shot, I would have been hit. And I said: "I won't let you into the apartment. There's no one there except for my paralyzed mother." And my mother was a very curious woman. She started shouting: "Who came there?" I say, "There's no one here except Mom." I see the VSSU guys looking at me and smiling sarcastically. I couldn't understand why. And then I turned around and saw Mom standing behind me. I was hiding her, so that God forbid something would happen, and she came out herself. The VSEU officers stood there for a while, then apologized and said: "Woman, don't worry. Write in paint on the doors that people live here. None of ours (Ukrainians) will touch you." I wrote it. Whoever wanted to, came in. I didn't close the door anymore, because it was useless: they would have broken the door down anyway. When the Ukrainian Armed Forces completely occupied Sudzha, they went further to Martynovka. And what about us? They kept bombing and bombing. We hid in basements. Personally, I only stayed in the apartment because I couldn’t leave my mother. I had nothing to lose. No matter how you do it, death will find you anyway. Although there were families who sat in the basement for seven months and never came out into the light. - And what did you eat? — I'm telling you, we lived like under communism: we went to stores and bought what we needed. Canned goods, water, flour, pasta, crackers. The VSSU guys also helped — they gave us rations. At the same time, they didn't allow us to go further than 200 meters from home without a pass. I also registered with them to go get everything we needed. By the way, they also helped with medicines. I ordered something from them for my mother, and they brought it straight to my home once. But mostly I went to get the medicines myself. I ordered and picked it up in three or four days. In short, everyone lived in harmony. And I was the only one left in our 16-apartment building. I remember these landings and bombings - I couldn't sleep. And on November 8, my mother died. - And how did she die? — She died quietly. I fed her in the morning. Then at lunchtime I came to her bed and asked: “Mom, can I bring you some water? If you understand me, blink,” — she couldn’t even blink. She fell to the floor. I picked her up, put her on the sofa, then fell again. I saw that she was getting cold, her nails were turning blue. That’s how she died. There was a young man sitting near the house. I asked him to help. He quickly gathered some lads to help bury her. But there was no coffin. And they wouldn't let us into the cemetery because there were troops there. They found a bag and buried her right in front of the windows of her house in the garden. When peacetime comes, she will have to be reburied. - Sudzha has already been released. - Who said that? — Ministry of Defense. — The Ministry of Defense? (cries). They say so much that the Koreans have come… Somewhere around the 8th or 10th, I went outside to collect dry firewood near the entrance. I see the military coming. — Did you think they were Ukrainians? — Personally, the Ukrainians didn’t touch me. — Did they touch anyone? — They touched and touched. Mainly men. Let's say they were walking down the street and saw a passerby. If they didn't like someone, they would start teasing him, to get the man worked up. And then they spread a rumor that when they retreated, they would shoot everyone: both young men and grown men. — Are there many men left? - About one hundred and fifty. - My God, what their mothers must have felt at that moment. — And what can mothers feel when they can't do anything? They shot people in Russkoye Porechny — 17 people. Both men and women (the women were raped). It seems like these VSSU officers are about to be tried. - But this won’t bring people back to life. - Of course. It was very scary. You go outside and think: "I guess I should run home." Because at home, at least the walls will save you. My apartment is kind of inside, surrounded on all sides. In short, I buried my mother, and there was no reason for me to stay. Then one of my friends said: "Valentina Vasilievna, get ready, we won't disturb you." He had a large farm with cows, he abandoned it. He took his wife, son, took me and brought here. - And how did you leave? — Our Ministry of Emergency Situations took us away. - So ours went there? - Yes. — Let me clarify. You said that you saw soldiers on the 8th. Who were they? — They were scouts, grimy-grimy. It turned out that they were the same ones who came out of the pipe. I didn't know, because there was no Internet. And they took away phones. — Did they take away all the phones? - Yes. But I hid mine. I said: "Please, look. Whatever you take is yours." Then one of the VSEU guys, who was in charge, said: "Zinochka, don't be afraid, we won't touch you. But you don't have to show off in front of us, because we have different people." After all, there were mercenaries on their side - both English and Poles. They especially recommended that girls not dress brightly and not stick their heads out. There was also a case when girls went to get water, and a grenade was dropped on them from a drone and they were wounded. One of them was taken to Sumy, I don’t know about the other one. So, our guys came, said hello, and said, "We're ours." But I didn't immediately notice that they had red armbands. I had been through a lot of stress. And there was this young guy there, he looked about 20. I started crying. I ask: "What's your name?" "Dima." Where are you from? "From the Tambov region." He later helped me fix the glass. I walk, cry, and mentally talk to my mother. He says: "Don't cry, we'll help you now." I say: "Dimochka, let me at least feed you some cookies." Then he looks and says: "Grandma, the "birdie" is flying." I won't run and hide from him. He shouted: "At least press yourself against the wall." Everything seemed to be all right. I said, let me at least give you some tea. “It’s not allowed. We have everything. Why rob civilians.” Although I didn’t feel sorry for them. Then I finally got them some cookies and candy. I said, "Son, at least for my mother's sake, remember her." He took them, thanked me, and told me not to say that I saw them. - You called this intelligence officer your son. Have you ever called Ukrainians sons? — I did. When the Ukrainian Armed Forces entered Sudzha on August 9, they assigned two patrolmen to us. They were two boys, Ivan and Kostya. One from Kremenchuk, the other from Poltava. One day I went out into the yard, and they asked: "Titochko, do you need some bread or water?" I said: "Oh, my son, who would refuse bread and water." So 10-15 minutes later they brought me two bottles of water and bread. I say: "Maybe you need something too?" "No, no." Then Vanya comes up and says: "Grandma Valya, if possible, boil some hot potatoes for us." And I boiled them on the fire, because there was no stove. I went to the garden, dug up some young potatoes, picked some tomatoes and boiled soup for them. “Wow, at least we’ll eat properly. Otherwise, the soldier’s everything is dry.” They often helped me. They would get a gas canister or something else. I am grateful to them. — Did you consider them more like your own or more like enemies? - I took them calmly. They were like children to me. Then they had a rotation and were sent home. — Did you expect our people to come? - Of course, I waited. It's just that until our people arrived, I had to live somehow. - Why did you wait for our people if the VSSU officers didn’t offend you? — How could we not wait? We are all living people. And I felt sorry for the VSEU guys: they are young people. It is not their fault that they were sent here. And our guys are young too. That same Dima from Tambov is only 21 years old. I repeat, no one has offended me. Neither from this side nor from that side. True, there were gangs that robbed apartments, stole cars and raped girls. And why rape me? I am already an old man. — And then what happened to these girls? — I don’t know. They said that someone was taken to Sumy. They also said that a couple of young guys were taken to Yunakovka (the logistics hub of the invasion group in Sumy Oblast. — Ed.) and forced to dig trenches, and then shot. But I didn’t see it myself. — Were there girls you knew personally who then disappeared? How do you even know about rapes? — There were none. It was just that among the neighbors who lived on the same street as me, there were such conversations. “There was a girl living in that house, they took her away, she never came back.” - Why didn't she leave Sudzha right away? Didn't have time? - Probably, yes. Sudzha was immediately surrounded. A mouse couldn't slip through there. For example, I had a neighbor Galina Yuryevna, may she rest in peace. She was a stubborn woman. She came to Sudzha from Kursk to visit her husband at the cemetery. When the children tried to leave for her, Sudzha was already surrounded. I looked after her. She was a living person. — What did she die of? — When the boarding school in Sudzha was hit, she was cut by shrapnel. There were no doctors, and she bled to death. She was buried somewhere there. They say that fifteen old people died near the boarding school. The boarding school was mostly bedridden. Some were taken to Sumy, some stayed there. I didn’t go there much, because they brought me food and medicine. Then a woman contacted me, a social worker who was responsible for our street before the war. She said that she had been evacuated to Tula. She started asking how we were doing here. I said, "Galina Yuryevna is gone. And this one is gone, and that grandfather is gone too." Come to me in Tula, she said. I refused. What would I do there? — And yet, what is the difference between ours and not ours? — During the occupation, there was no way to go anywhere peacefully. Men were insulted, girls were raped. I can even say that in this building there is a 74-year-old woman who was raped. There was a gangbang there. I don’t know how she got away from them. — How could a 74-year-old woman be raped? - What difference does it make to them - 17 or 74? They are beasts. There are people you wouldn't even think are like that. They look normal, but what's going on in their heads is unclear. They are all stoned and high. Then, when our people arrived, my friend told me to pack up and leave. Although he had a family of seven, he still came to me. I took a minimum of things and a package of medicines. I came here in what I was wearing. At first they said they would bring me to Kursk, but in the end they brought me here. - That's good. There are flights to Kursk, and it's calmer here. — I know. I have the Internet now, I read the news. The first night we spent here, I couldn't sleep because my nerves were on edge. The siren started howling, I started shaking, we didn't have sirens there. It turned out that a drone had flown by. They said it would be quiet here. But here it was the same. Oh well. Two deaths are not allowed, one is inevitable. I have already been in accidents and during occupations. It is hard to remember. And now I need to collect documents. Mom died, and the hospital was destroyed. I don’t even know if Sudzha will be rebuilt. - I think it will be restored first. It is a symbol. - How? The Ukrainians stole all the equipment and cleared out all the construction bases. - They are "poor and unfortunate". They need it more. Let them at least take it from us. — Once I came to the store. Two police officers came in. I was scared because I was alone there, usually two or three of us with our neighbors went. They said: “Titochko, don’t be afraid of us. Take what you need.” I said: “And the payment? Through the cash register?” And I laughed out of fear. They laughed too. They were nice young people. Then I came to the "Estate" for saucepans. I met those two again. There were two other VSSU officers with them. They said: "Oh, this is the second time we've met. What are you looking for here? There's nothing left to take." I said: "I need a saucepan." "What do you cook on?" I answered: "Guys, if you have a gas canister, give me some. And some cigarettes, too, if possible." "Are you smoking?" "That's not for me, it's for my man. More precisely, my ex. We lived together for 50 years, then he cheated on me with a younger woman." — Did you come up with this? - Yes, out of fear. And they believed. - Why do you need cigarettes? — For the guy who helped me with milk or firewood, he lived on a parallel street. There was no money, it was barter. And he admitted that at first he didn’t want to give me milk, but then he realized that I was a normal woman who was taking care of her sick mother. He had buried his mother at one time, too. He helped everyone. He even slaughtered his heifer to give the meat to everyone. It was he who brought me here later. I said, “Why? You have your own family.” “No, we are like family now.” - What will you do next? — Once, while sitting here, I went to watch the news. I saw my grandfather looking at me. He said: "Vasilievna, are you here? And we searched for you together with the head of the district." They brought the head of the district, he promised to take care of me. They got the prosecutor's office and other authorities involved to collect documents for my mother's funeral and receiving benefits. One-time payments have already been transferred. |
| Posted by:badanov |