New York Times journalist Nana Heitman spent six days with the Russian military unit “Akhmat“ near the town of Sudzha in the Kursk region and published a report on the destruction and casualties in the region. The article, titled “Landscape of Death: What Remains Where Ukraine Invaded Russia“, describes large-scale destruction and suffering of civilians in the border areas where fighting is taking place as part of the Ukrainian military operation, BTA reports.
The reaction from the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry was immediate. Spokesman Georgy Tykhy strongly condemned the material, stating on the social network X (formerly Twitter):
“Anyone from the NYT who considered it reasonable to publish material created with the participation of Russian war criminals has made the most stupid decision. This is not balancing or a different point of view, this is an open door for Russian propaganda.“
In the report, Heitman describes horrific scenes. Bodies of civilians and soldiers left unburied in the fields around the village of Martynovka, destroyed homes filled with decomposing corpses. One of the victims is a 68-year-old woman who, according to her relatives, could not be evacuated in time.
“The fields are strewn with dead cows, pigs, civilians and soldiers. In the kitchen of one house I saw the almost naked body of a man with signs of violence, a wound in the neck and a hole in the chest that looked like a gunshot wound“, the journalist writes, specifying that the circumstances surrounding his death remain unclear.
Residents of Sudzha and the surrounding villages say they have survived months without food, water, electricity, medicine and communications. They say many of their neighbours have died - some claim to have buried dozens.
The footage presents different perspectives. Some locals accuse Russian authorities of failing to protect the region, while others blame Ukrainian strikes. Heitman notes that residents often perceive the conflict as a “war between relatives“, as many have relatives in Ukraine.
“They are shooting at their own. At their neighbours. Half of our relatives are Ukrainians“, says a resident of the Kursk region.
The report also cites testimony from refugee shelters, where anti-Ukrainian sentiment prevails. 76-year-old Lyubov Blashchuk blames NATO expansion for the war and considers Ukrainians victims of propaganda. According to Heitman, such views are widely shared among the displaced.
At the same time, some locals claim that Ukrainian forces did not attack civilians while holding Sudzha.
“Nobody touched us, neither Ukrainians nor Russians. They just shot at each other“, says another witness.
The soldiers from “Akhmat“, quoted in the report, say that they were greeted by the local population “with tears and hugs“.
“For the first time in my life I see people hugging us“, says one of the fighters.
Many of those interviewed express a desire for the war to end. Some pin their hopes on US President Donald Trump, others on Russian President Vladimir Putin. Some simply want to leave the region forever.
The New York Times publication has caused a storm of reactions, with the Ukrainian side sharply criticizing criticized for the participation of a Russian military unit and the presentation of events in the conflict zone.