Six of the victims found in a recently liberated village (in Kursk Region) had gunshot wounds, according to investigators
Nine civilians were killed by Ukrainian forces before their retreat from a recently liberated village in Kursk Region, according to the Russian Investigative Committee. Six of the victims had gunshot wounds, including an elderly woman who was shot in the head, the committee’s spokesperson has said.
The Ukrainian military launched its surprise incursion into internationally recognized Russian territory last August, taking over several localities. Russia has since liberated most of the territory.
In a statement on Thursday, the committee’s spokesperson, Svetlana Petrenko, said that Russian investigators probing suspected Ukrainian terrorist attacks in Kursk Region “found the bodies of nine civilians with injuries pointing to a violent death as they inspected private residential areas in the settlement of Makhnovka.”
According to the official, “no later than in March 2025, Ukrainian servicemen deliberately shelled” residential buildings in the area. The type of damage sustained by the buildings indicates that they had come under artillery fire, Petrenko added. She further noted that “six bodies have gunshot wounds,” with one of the victims identified as an “elderly woman shot in the head.”
The investigators continue working to identify all the victims and gather evidence, the official said, adding that those responsible for the civilians’ deaths will be held to account.
The Russian authorities have also released a short video clip depicting the investigators examining the scene of the crime, as well as blurred pictures of several victims’ bodies.
Last month, the investigative committee reported incidents of looting, arson, and shootings of civilians by Ukrainian military personnel in the town of Sudzha in Kursk Region. According to Russian officials, eyewitness accounts indicated that specific orders had been issued to Ukrainian troops to kill civilians in the occupied parts of Kursk Region.
The Russian authorities cited cases of “targeted shelling of residential buildings in Sudzha,” with Kiev’s forces looting and setting fire to civilian homes.
Ukraine launched its incursion into Kursk Region in August 2024, with Vladimir Zelensky saying that the operation was meant to provide leverage for future peace negotiations. By late March, the Russian military had liberated most of the territory previously held by Ukrainian forces.
