08:06Ivan Kovalev, a resident of Sudzha in the Kursk region, described how he had returned to the town to help his mother evacuate following the Ukrainian incursion, as they discussed the escape on Tuesday.
"People are all outside, no one is sleeping, everyone is looking at the damage," said Ivan, recalling the fighting which began on August 6 in the Sujan district. "Cars have been smashed, fences have been twisted as if they were made of crumpled plastic. Cars are all smashed, everything is blown up. Nobody has any windows in their cars at all."
His mother, Lyudmila Kovaleva, added that it had been especially scary at nighttime.
"The sun had set, it was dark, darkness all around. Only in the distance, somewhere, there were shots, grenade explosions, even a few shouts. <...> It was very scary. It's impossible to describe. It's just on the instinctive level, a kind of horror when it's all whistling. You hear it (bombs) flying around, whistling, you hear where it's falling and it's all over your head," the woman recalled.
Ivan said he initially urged his mother to leave, but she refused to leave her home and cat, hoping things would soon settle down. He found himself hitchhiking alone to the nearby Bolshezoldatsky district and the relative safety of a temporary accommodation centre but returned as the situation deteriorated. He walked 10 kilometres on foot and was eventually picked up by a passing car.
"He [Ivan] bursts in: 'Mum, that's enough, get ready, let's go'. We made a backpack for the cat and I put it on myself. We quickly threw in what we could find and left," Lyudmila added.
Ivan said that within 24 hours Sudzha was deserted and partially destroyed.
"The town [Sudzha] has already changed, it has changed a lot since the last day, because all the asphalt was already ruined by the tanks, all the streets, all the pavements…There were no people, there were only a few people all the time. Everyone was already in a kind of fear," he said.
Ivan got his mother into a car that was assisting with the evacuation, then collected his some belongings and began to make his own way out again by bicycle.
"I reached the city border, there is a settlement called Mirny after the railway station, it is right next to the city, to the railway station. I could no longer cycle there because it was rough terrain. It wasn't made for that kind of travel. I threw it away and walked. That's when I saw the drone. It was the most frightening moment of my life," he related.
Ivan also described meeting a dog that followed him on his journey - as well as his elation at finally get a mobile signal and discovering his mother had made it out safely.
Ivan and his mother are currently residing in a TAC in Kursk.
Ukrainian forces entered Kursk region on August 6 in an offensive described by Russian President Vladimir Putin as a 'large-scale provocation'. President Volodymyr Zelensky described the attack as 'purely [a] security issue for Ukraine', with fighting ongoing.
A counter-terrorist operation regime was introduced in the Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk regions on August 9, while more than 120,000 people have been evacuated from the Kursk border districts.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.
'Get ready, let's go!' - Kursk region local describes return to danger zone to save his mother
Ivan Kovalev, a resident of Sudzha in the Kursk region, described how he had returned to the town to help his mother evacuate following the Ukrainian incursion, as they discussed the escape on Tuesday.
"People are all outside, no one is sleeping, everyone is looking at the damage," said Ivan, recalling the fighting which began on August 6 in the Sujan district. "Cars have been smashed, fences have been twisted as if they were made of crumpled plastic. Cars are all smashed, everything is blown up. Nobody has any windows in their cars at all."
His mother, Lyudmila Kovaleva, added that it had been especially scary at nighttime.
"The sun had set, it was dark, darkness all around. Only in the distance, somewhere, there were shots, grenade explosions, even a few shouts. <...> It was very scary. It's impossible to describe. It's just on the instinctive level, a kind of horror when it's all whistling. You hear it (bombs) flying around, whistling, you hear where it's falling and it's all over your head," the woman recalled.
Ivan said he initially urged his mother to leave, but she refused to leave her home and cat, hoping things would soon settle down. He found himself hitchhiking alone to the nearby Bolshezoldatsky district and the relative safety of a temporary accommodation centre but returned as the situation deteriorated. He walked 10 kilometres on foot and was eventually picked up by a passing car.
"He [Ivan] bursts in: 'Mum, that's enough, get ready, let's go'. We made a backpack for the cat and I put it on myself. We quickly threw in what we could find and left," Lyudmila added.
Ivan said that within 24 hours Sudzha was deserted and partially destroyed.
"The town [Sudzha] has already changed, it has changed a lot since the last day, because all the asphalt was already ruined by the tanks, all the streets, all the pavements…There were no people, there were only a few people all the time. Everyone was already in a kind of fear," he said.
Ivan got his mother into a car that was assisting with the evacuation, then collected his some belongings and began to make his own way out again by bicycle.
"I reached the city border, there is a settlement called Mirny after the railway station, it is right next to the city, to the railway station. I could no longer cycle there because it was rough terrain. It wasn't made for that kind of travel. I threw it away and walked. That's when I saw the drone. It was the most frightening moment of my life," he related.
Ivan also described meeting a dog that followed him on his journey - as well as his elation at finally get a mobile signal and discovering his mother had made it out safely.
Ivan and his mother are currently residing in a TAC in Kursk.
Ukrainian forces entered Kursk region on August 6 in an offensive described by Russian President Vladimir Putin as a 'large-scale provocation'. President Volodymyr Zelensky described the attack as 'purely [a] security issue for Ukraine', with fighting ongoing.
A counter-terrorist operation regime was introduced in the Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk regions on August 9, while more than 120,000 people have been evacuated from the Kursk border districts.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.
Ivan Kovalev, a resident of Sudzha in the Kursk region, described how he had returned to the town to help his mother evacuate following the Ukrainian incursion, as they discussed the escape on Tuesday.
"People are all outside, no one is sleeping, everyone is looking at the damage," said Ivan, recalling the fighting which began on August 6 in the Sujan district. "Cars have been smashed, fences have been twisted as if they were made of crumpled plastic. Cars are all smashed, everything is blown up. Nobody has any windows in their cars at all."
His mother, Lyudmila Kovaleva, added that it had been especially scary at nighttime.
"The sun had set, it was dark, darkness all around. Only in the distance, somewhere, there were shots, grenade explosions, even a few shouts. <...> It was very scary. It's impossible to describe. It's just on the instinctive level, a kind of horror when it's all whistling. You hear it (bombs) flying around, whistling, you hear where it's falling and it's all over your head," the woman recalled.
Ivan said he initially urged his mother to leave, but she refused to leave her home and cat, hoping things would soon settle down. He found himself hitchhiking alone to the nearby Bolshezoldatsky district and the relative safety of a temporary accommodation centre but returned as the situation deteriorated. He walked 10 kilometres on foot and was eventually picked up by a passing car.
"He [Ivan] bursts in: 'Mum, that's enough, get ready, let's go'. We made a backpack for the cat and I put it on myself. We quickly threw in what we could find and left," Lyudmila added.
Ivan said that within 24 hours Sudzha was deserted and partially destroyed.
"The town [Sudzha] has already changed, it has changed a lot since the last day, because all the asphalt was already ruined by the tanks, all the streets, all the pavements…There were no people, there were only a few people all the time. Everyone was already in a kind of fear," he said.
Ivan got his mother into a car that was assisting with the evacuation, then collected his some belongings and began to make his own way out again by bicycle.
"I reached the city border, there is a settlement called Mirny after the railway station, it is right next to the city, to the railway station. I could no longer cycle there because it was rough terrain. It wasn't made for that kind of travel. I threw it away and walked. That's when I saw the drone. It was the most frightening moment of my life," he related.
Ivan also described meeting a dog that followed him on his journey - as well as his elation at finally get a mobile signal and discovering his mother had made it out safely.
Ivan and his mother are currently residing in a TAC in Kursk.
Ukrainian forces entered Kursk region on August 6 in an offensive described by Russian President Vladimir Putin as a 'large-scale provocation'. President Volodymyr Zelensky described the attack as 'purely [a] security issue for Ukraine', with fighting ongoing.
A counter-terrorist operation regime was introduced in the Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk regions on August 9, while more than 120,000 people have been evacuated from the Kursk border districts.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.