On March 12, Russia’s Defense Ministry announced the liberation of Sudzha from Ukrainian forces that seized the city in August 2024. A day earlier, the Ukrainian military had reported that fighting was still ongoing in the city’s outskirts. Residents trapped in Sudzha under Ukrainian occupation (their exact number remains unknown) lost contact with relatives, and some were reported missing. Many lost their lives during Ukraine’s attack and Russia’s countermeasures, either in the artillery fire or due to a shortage of medical care. The independent journalists’ cooperative Bereg spoke with Sudzha residents Alexey and his daughter, Elena, who survived the occupation and were able to evacuate to Kursk after Ukrainian forces withdrew from the city. Meduza is publishing their account in full.

Over these seven months, Ukrainian soldiers helped us maybe six or seven times — they distributed grain, flour, bread, and other necessities to households. Whenever they had something, they shared it with us. Meanwhile, we got absolutely nothing from our own people.

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I saw those men, grimy and black as demons, in the street [Russian soldiers] climbing out of the pipeline, like something out of a fairy tale. Then, suddenly, there was a knock on the door — they told us these were our soldiers now: different uniforms, red bands on their shoulders. It felt like everything began out of nowhere and ended just as unexpectedly.