After evacuation

Kiev: Russians plunder compatriots in Kursk

A supermarket in the Ukrainian-controlled border town of Sudzha: uninvited guests have apparently helped themselves here.

(Bild: AFP )

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, there have been repeated reports of Russian soldiers being accused of looting. Now members of the army are apparently not stopping at their compatriots' property either: videos on social media show Russian soldiers emptying stores and private homes in evacuated areas in Kursk. 

Since the counter-offensive in the Russian border region of Kursk, Ukraine says it has taken control of 92 villages - many Russians have fled the affected areas and had to leave most of their belongings behind. Russian soldiers are apparently taking advantage of this: Reports of looting are increasing.

Video shows looting in cell phone shop
Anton Gerashchenko, an advisor to the Ukrainian Ministry of the Interior, published a video showing soldiers from the Chechen special unit "Akhmat". "They break open display cases, take out devices and try to open the door," says the post on the X platform.

This video shows the looting of a cell phone store: 

Ukrainian researcher Volodymyr Tretyak commented dryly on the video: "When the Russian army invaded Ukraine, the Russians looted stores. When the Ukrainian army invaded Russia, the Russians were still looting stores."

A looted private house is allegedly shown here:

Blogger: Russians have "problems with military indiscipline"
But the criminals are apparently not stopping at abandoned private homes either. The Ukrainian military blogger "ChrisO_wiki" published a video allegedly recorded by a Russian soldier showing a tour of a ransacked house. The creator of the clip complains that "the Ministry of Defense" had already been in the private house and had already cleared it out. "It seems that the Russians have serious problems with military indiscipline," summarizes the Ukrainian blogger.

The phenomenon is not new: Russian soldiers are said to have looted the homes of evacuees shortly before their withdrawal from the region, as reported by Ukrainian media. 120,000 Russians have already left the Kursk region - the evacuation was described as chaotic by many of those affected, with some having to make their own way to safety.