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Ukrainian soldier Vitalii Ovcharenko, currently stationed in the occupied Russian town of Sudzha, Kursk Oblast, described life in the town, and his interactions with locals, in a post on Facebook on Sep. 3.
Ovcharenko revealed that the residents of Sudzha all know Ukrainian well, or at least Surzhyk, a Russian-Ukrainian creole widely used throughout Ukraine. He noted that they did not have an audible Russian accent when speaking Ukrainian or Surzhyk.
The soldier explained that the town's residents were almost exclusively pensioners and the elderly, with everyone else having left – though no property in Sudzha has been damaged by combat.
"Personally, I feel sorry for the animals: the dogs and cats and horses," Ovcharenko said.
"Somehow, our [drone] detector started burning up, and we ran into a garden to hide – and there was a small dog there, suffering on a chain. We gave the dog something to drink, released it from its chain – now it has some chance [to survive]. On a chain – there was nothing."
As for the Ukrainian military's relationship with Sudzha residents, Ovcharenko stated that by and large, the residents ignore the soldiers, or are politely friendly with them.
"They (Sudzha residents -ed.) aren't scared [of us]!" he wrote.
"For a long time in Lyman after its liberation, the locals were scared of anyone in a military uniform."
Additionally, the locals are using the opportunity to loot, taking not only what's needed to survive but anything they want.
"It feels weird to find myself in Russia, but there's no time for introspection – because we need to eat, sleep, work..." Ovcharenko added.
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