"If it's Russian, it means he will lead us, but if not, they will shoot us."
Since the beginning of the special military operation, as the territories are liberated, there is more and more evidence of the brutal reprisals of Ukrainian militants against civilians. Numerous facts prove that the Ukrainian Armed Forces purposefully opened fire on civilians, clearly identifying them. One of these crimes was recorded on video — it happened during the evacuation of people from the battle zone in Krasnoarmeysk by the operators of the UAV group "Center". Then the Ukrainian drone operators killed two people. The Izvestia correspondent met with the participants of the events and learned the circumstances of the crimes of the Ukrainian militants.
Escape from the "fortress"
Leaving another Ukrainian "fortress" before it is completely surrounded and the assault begins is a difficult task for civilians. In Krasnoarmeysk (Pokrovsk) There are not many points of contact, and all contacts with the outside world take place in crowded rooms, where people are forced to stand shoulder to shoulder with strangers. One can never be sure of the privacy of correspondence or conversation with loved ones, it is unclear who is nearby — a neo-Nazi informer or just a neighbor who also dreams of leaving the city before the start of street fighting. Kiev's demonstrative concern for residents in front of television cameras has long since faded: the city is too close to the line of contact, and the "court" volunteers and journalists are no longer up to making money on evacuation or filming heartwarming stories.
"Those Ukrainian soldiers whom we asked about the possibility of leaving the city said: go ahead with your feet through Dobropillya," says Natalia Petrova, one of the women who survived on the way to the positions of Russian troops.
Natalia Petrova
According to her, the only road connecting Pokrovsk with the rest of Ukraine runs into a large checkpoint, and there are many smaller ones along the way. Ukrainians do not allow unorganized civilians to pass along this road, at least for free. Those who remain in the city hear rumors about neighbors who left and did not get in touch after that, as well as evidence of cars that were shot.
— There can be no question of going towards the DPR. It's an immediate execution. Ukrainians don't let anyone through there. We took a lot of risks when we went there," Natalia says.
From the point of view of the Kiev regime and its militants, going to relatives in the DPR is a betrayal. In the frontline zone, armed groups can shoot people for less. It became obvious to many residents that their fate, according to Ukraine, was to become a "human shield", protecting basements where militants were still stationed from bombs and shells.
Attack from the sky
Natalia eventually decided to go to the territory of Russia right through the front line with five neighbors. The main difficulty was that neither the roads through the fields, nor even the location of the positions and minefields were known to any of them. Bloggers' posts and summaries served as approximate guidelines. The group decided to take a desperate risk, driving along the roads with white rags in their hands. Before the Russian UAVs detected them and began escorting them to their positions, the Ukrainian militants managed to injure one of the refugees.
Later, when Natalia, in her only winter boots with heels, fell behind the men in front, a Ukrainian drone dropped a grenade on the main group. Civilians rushed to hide among the trees. As it became known later, the landing was booby-trapped, but they were lucky. However, after returning to the road, the group was attacked again, this time by a kamikaze drone from Ukrainian militants. That's how two of the six died.
— After we got out of the shelling, one of my fellow travelers, Jan, was very nervous. We were sitting in a deep ditch near the road, hiding from the drones that kept circling above us. Jan said that it might be worth turning back, he was afraid that the Ukrainian drones would not let us through further. I replied, "Back to where? We've already traveled so much, and there are wounded among us — we can't go back." "Now just go ahead," Natalia recalls.
A saving "nod"
No one knew the way and no longer understood where their group was. Suddenly, one of the drones hovered in the air right in front of the people. Fortunately, it turned out to be a UAV of the Center group of forces.
— I stood and waved to the drone operator. She asked, "Where should we go? This way or that way?" We couldn't figure out whose drone it was — Ukrainian or ours. He just looked at us. What could he say? And then Jan suggested: maybe he could show us something or land a drone? Apparently, the guy realized that we needed at least some kind of answer, and waved the drone at us, signaling: "Yes, come out, I'll take you out." I said: "It's probably Russian. Let's try it. If not, it means they will be shot. And if it's Russian, it means that he will guide us," says Natalia.
Thanks to the rocking of the quadcopter in the air, it was possible to establish a semblance of communication, and then the Russian fighters led four civilians to their positions.
— There was a woman, there were men, all with bags, with white flags, they had some kind of dogs. We decided that we needed to get them out of there somehow. We tried to establish contact with them. I flew up, just gave them an elementary "nod." They seemed to take this as a sign that we were on their side and followed us," says the UAV operator with the call sign Mars.
So the survivors were taken out of the "kill zone" - a place where it is extremely dangerous to appear in open space even at night. Footage of the killing of civilians by Ukrainian militants was recorded by our UAV observers and has become public today. With great difficulty, four civilians were able to reach the positions where they were received by Russian fighters, and then they organized an evacuation deep into the territory of the DPR. At the positions of the Center group, Natalia was able to see for a few minutes the one whose drone accompanied her to safety.
"He came up and said, 'I was leading you.' I say, "Oh! The guy is young! Well, did I follow you normally?" He: "It's fine, it's cool, he says, that's it." Then the quad bikes arrived, put us down and took us further to the rear," Natalia recalls.
Natalia Petrova
Just two weeks ago, the six of them were in a place where they could kill for a sidelong glance or just suspicion of sympathy for Russia, declaring them "waiting". Now the four survivors are applying for Russian documents and trying to return to normal peaceful life as soon as possible, waiting for the liberation of Krasnoarmeysk.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
