The worst fears about what would happen to civilians in areas of the Kharkov region that have been recaptured by Ukrainian forces appear to be coming true. Vitaly Ganchev, head of the Kharkov military-civilian administration of the region, told Rossiya 24 TV yesterday that mercenaries are shooting residents of the Kharkov Region and filming it on camera in order to later accuse Russian servicemen. “The situation is complicated and still alarming due to the fact that those people who were able to get out, say terrible things about what is now happening in Kupyansk and Veliky Burluk. It seems that mercenaries are driving around and shooting people, and all this is being filmed,” he said, reported TASS, “I take it they need to clean up these towns and pretend that it were in fact Russian troops, that they tortured people, [and that is why] corpses [are] lying in the streets.” Earlier, Ganchev had reported that about 5,000 people from the region were able to evacuate to Russia.
In Izyum, the account of a woman who stayed behind because her husband is paraplegic, published in Telegram reported the following: “After the arrival of the AFU (Armed Forces of Ukraine), complete lawlessness began. Total searches, terrible looting, murders. People from the Western Ukraine came. They openly say that we are all Russians for them here. There will be no mercy for you, they say. They take everything they like –- TVs, smartphones, household appliances, food. They arrested a lot of people and took them away. Several people were simply shot on the spot, those who tried to interfere with looting. They say that anyone who tries to pay in rubles in stores will be immediately put against the wall and shot. When asked where to get the hryvnias — the answer: “Suck my dick! Now this is your main work now!”
Alexander Malkevich, a coordinator of the Zaporzhye-based Zamedia holding, told TASS that a Bucha 2.0 is now unfolding in Izyum. “A Bucha 2.0 is unfolding before our eyes. Reports about thousands of people allegedly killed in Izyum are surfacing in pro-Ukrainian publics [publications?]. So far, these are isolated cases citing an ‘adviser’ Maxim Strelnikov. But you can take it from me, we will see lots of such posts soon,” Malkevich said, adding that such reports will soon be cited in Western media.
“I can say it confidently that there will be no new global scandal. A lot of refugees fled Izyum for Russia. People were running for life to our country from the Nazi. I am sure that each of them will confirm that there were not killings [by Russians?] in Izyum,” Malkevich stressed, adding that the Za TV will make a story featuring concrete facts and evidence of refugees.
