Ukrainian soldiers operating in Kursk Region have killed several civilians, a Russian volunteer has claimed. He has released highly disturbing drone footage of the aftermath of an attack.
In a post on Telegram on Tuesday, Platon Mamatov, a volunteer from Ekaterinburg who covers the conflict on social media, alleged that Ukrainian troops killed at least two civilians and two other unidentified people in the early days of Kiev’s incursion into Russian territory.
A clip filmed from a drone shows three bodies lying on the side of a road, with a wrecked car nearby. Only one of the deceased is wearing camouflage, while the others bear no signs of military attire. Another video, apparently taken in the same area, shows a dead person lying in what appears to be a dried-up pool of blood near a bicycle and two wrecked cars.
WARNING! GRAPHIC VIDEO
“The man on the bicycle is clearly a civilian. The man in the lilac flip-flops is also 100% a civilian. The affiliation of the other two cannot be determined now,” Mamatov stated. He did not provide any details on how they could have been killed.
WARNING! GRAPHIC VIDEO
Speaking to the Russian Telegram channel Ostorozhno Novisti, he said that the incident occurred on the outskirts of Olgovka, some 20km from the Ukrainian border. The Russian Defense Ministry reported fighting not far from this settlement.
Moscow has accused Kiev’s troops of indiscriminate attacks on civilians during its incursion into Kursk Region, its largest cross-border operation against Russia to date. According to Russian officials, at least 31 people have been killed and 143 injured in the region, although the eventual figure could be higher.
The video was released after Apty Alaudinov, the commander of the Akhmat Special Forces from Russia’s Chechen Republic, claimed to have seen numerous photos depicting civilians being shot at by Ukrainians at point-blank range, while accusing Kiev’s forces of using local residents as human shields.
The Russian Defense Ministry has said that Ukraine’s advance had been halted, estimating Kiev’s losses at more than 4,400 troops since the start of the incursion.