HUSARIVKA, Ukraine (Reuters) – Broken mud tanks, damaged buildings and mourning families mark a recaptured eastern Ukrainian village whose residents are thinking about the price they and their former Russians ought to pay. Ukrainian troops recaptured Husarivka last month, a rural village with a population of 500-600 in peacetime about 150km southeast of the city of Kharkiv, following heavy fighting following the Russian invasion on February 24. As Russian forces withdraw after failing to occupy major cities, such as Kyiv and Kharkov, to refocus their attack on the Donbas region in the southeast, residents of the surrounding areas begin clearing after weeks of occupation. Nadezhda Syrova, 79, said the young soldiers went from house to house asking for food, echoing reports of ill-trained and under-equipped Russian forces from other locations in northern and eastern Ukraine, where the Russians have retreated. Some of the Russian invaders said they were in a training exercise or there to clear Ukraine of bandits and “Nazis,” he added, standing on a piece of land near her home. “Where do you see robbers and Nazis here? We are just normal, peaceful people. Ukrainians,” he said. In the fields above the village, burnt armored personnel carriers and two broken Russian anti-aircraft guns sit abandoned in the mud, surrounded by debris such as gas masks, computer printers and muddy shoes. In the village itself, a damaged Russian tank, which has already rusted, is resting on the road, with the turret blown to its side. A Ukrainian soldier said the fighting continued for about three weeks with his side using anti-tank weapons, including artillery and Javelin missiles supplied from abroad, eventually expelling two Russian regular battalion groups. “We bypassed the enemy from right and left, entered good positions and destroyed their equipment,” the soldier told reporters on condition that he be identified only by Parker. The story goes on He said his unit had captured a Russian officer and two scouts from an engineering unit trying to plant mines around the village to stop the Ukrainian attack and that he had to counter what he described as Russian sabotage and reconnaissance teams. “We fought the attacks three times when they tried to get in,” he said. BURNING BODIES His account could not be independently verified, but at least a dozen damaged armored vehicles, including tanks marked “Z” by Russian forces, remained in the village and surrounding fields. Ukrainian authorities say their forces have killed nearly 20,000 Russian soldiers and destroyed hundreds of tanks and armored personnel carriers since the invasion began. Other estimates are much lower, but Western officials put the death toll at thousands. Ukraine also says hundreds of Ukrainian civilians have been killed while under Russian occupation. Russia has denied targeting civilians, but locals in Husarivka say several locals have been killed or missing. Three unidentified cremated bodies were pulled from the basement of a house and transported to be investigated for possible signs of torture, they said. The state of Husarivka lies in a series of villages east of Kharkiv, a predominantly Russian-speaking city near Ukraine’s northeastern border, which has been the target of President Vladimir Putin’s army since the early days of the war. Although it no longer threatens to enter the city, Russia has maintained a partial blockade and subjected it to days of increasingly heavy bombardment. Residential buildings and infrastructure in Kharkov have been hit, causing dozens of casualties, with more than 60 artillery and rocket attacks overnight this week. On Friday, Reuters reporters heard mortar shelling hitting northern areas of the city. (Additional report by Alkis Konstantinidis Edited by Andrew Cawthorne)
title: “Recaptured Ukrainian Village Left With Wrecked Tanks Bodies And Questions " ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-02” author: “Michael Witaszek”
Ukrainian troops recaptured Husarivka last month, a rural village with a population of 500-600 in peacetime about 150km southeast of the city of Kharkiv, following heavy fighting following the Russian invasion on February 24. As Russian forces withdraw after failing to occupy major cities, such as Kyiv and Kharkov, to refocus their attack on the Donbas region in the southeast, residents of the surrounding areas begin clearing after weeks of occupation. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Nadezhda Syrova, 79, said the young soldiers went from house to house asking for food, echoing reports of ill-trained and under-equipped Russian forces from other locations in northern and eastern Ukraine, where the Russians have retreated. Some of the Russian invaders said they were in a training exercise or there to clear Ukraine of bandits and “Nazis,” he added, standing on a piece of land near her home. “Where do you see robbers and Nazis here? We are just normal, peaceful people. Ukrainians,” he said. In the fields above the village, burnt armored personnel carriers and two broken Russian anti-aircraft guns sit abandoned in the mud, surrounded by debris such as gas masks, computer printers and muddy shoes. In the village itself, a damaged Russian tank, which has already rusted, is resting on the road, with the turret blown to its side. A Ukrainian soldier said the fighting continued for about three weeks with his side using anti-tank weapons, including artillery and Javelin missiles supplied from abroad, eventually expelling two Russian regular battalion groups. “We bypassed the enemy from right and left, entered good positions and destroyed their equipment,” the soldier told reporters on condition that he be identified only by Parker. He said his unit had captured a Russian officer and two scouts from an engineering unit trying to plant mines around the village to stop the Ukrainian attack and that he had to counter what he described as Russian sabotage and reconnaissance teams. “We fought the attacks three times when they tried to get in,” he said. BURNING BODIES His account could not be independently verified, but at least a dozen damaged armored vehicles, including tanks marked “Z” by Russian forces, remained in the village and surrounding fields. Ukrainian authorities say their forces have killed nearly 20,000 Russian soldiers and destroyed hundreds of tanks and armored personnel carriers since the invasion began. Other estimates are much lower, but Western officials put the death toll at thousands. Ukraine also says hundreds of Ukrainian civilians have been killed while under Russian occupation. Russia has denied targeting civilians, but locals in Husarivka say several locals have been killed or missing. Three unidentified cremated bodies were pulled from the basement of a house and transported to be investigated for possible signs of torture, they said. The state of Husarivka lies in a series of villages east of Kharkiv, a predominantly Russian-speaking city near Ukraine’s northeastern border, which has been the target of President Vladimir Putin’s army since the early days of the war. Although it no longer threatens to enter the city, Russia has maintained a partial blockade and subjected it to days of increasingly heavy bombardment. Residential buildings and infrastructure in Kharkov have been hit, causing dozens of casualties, with more than 60 artillery and rocket attacks overnight this week. On Friday, Reuters reporters heard mortar shelling hitting northern areas of the city. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Additional report by Alkis Konstantinidis. Edited by Andrew Cawthorne Our role models: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.