Residents of Balakliia in Ukraine's Kharkiv province spoke of months of horror under Russian occupation after their city was freed by Ukrainian troops

https://www.reuters.com ^ | Sept 13, 2022 | Tom Balmforth

[UMCRevMom@aol.com]

The guns had gone quiet after three days of fighting in Balakliia. Mariya said only when she saw Ukrainian soldiers did she know six months Russian occupation had ended.

"I was walking ... when I saw an armored personnel carrier coming onto the square with a Ukrainian flag: my heart just tightened up and I began to sob."

At the site of one exhumed grave, Valentyna, the mother of 49-year-old Petro, cursed the war and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"No one can return my son to me."

Tymofiyeva said it had been clear Russia, which invaded Ukraine, planned to annex the town and surrounding territory. Prices in shops were given in both Russian roubles and Ukrainian hryvnia; pensioners were paid in roubles.

The town was isolated with no television, internet or mobile phone coverage from late April, apart from one place residents tried to find a faint signal.

Russian soldiers stopped residents in the street taking phones checking for pro-Ukrainian slogans or subscriptions to pro-Ukrainian media.

Her husband was made to strip to his underwear in the street for pro-Ukrainian tattoos and that he had not served the Ukrainian army fighting Russian forces in the Donbas.

Artem Larchenko said Russian forces searched his apartment for weapons. After they found a photograph of his brother in military uniform, they took and held him for 46 days in a tiny cell with six other people.

His captors at one point used wires to give electric shocks during interrogation, asking whereabouts of former military servicemen in the town. He could sometimes hear screams from his cell.

In Verbivka, emotional but cheery residents, recounted fearful existences under almost seven months of Russian occupation.

Nadia said she and fellow villagers in Verbivka met Ukrainian soldiers with "tears in our eyes".

"We couldn't have been happier."

[UMCRevMom@aol.com]

Local residents crowd near a car distributing humanitarian aid in the town of Balakliia Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the town of Balakliia

A destroyed car is seen in the town of Balakliia, recently liberated by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine

Drone footage shows the Ukrainian flag on the City Council building in Balakliia, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine,

Drone footage shows destroyed buildings and damaged vehicles in Balakliia, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine

Drone footage shows destroyed buildings and damaged vehicles in Balakliia, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine,

Drone footage shows armored vehicles on the roadside in Balakliia, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine

[foundedonpurpose]

Reuters

[House Atreides]

“Prices in shops were given in both Russian roubles and Ukrainian hryvnia; pensioners were paid in roubles”
********************************************************

Well, payment of Ukrainian pensions (by the Russians) in rubles in those areas will end now. Will payment of pensions in Hryvnia (the Ukrainian currency) by the Zelensky government be restarted?

We’ll see.

[AndyJackson]

Of course they say what they need to say about how bad the Russians are and how great the Ukrainians are. They don’t want to be taken out with the trash when the Ukrainians conduct their “purification” operations which the Ukrainians themselves have promised to do.

Just remember who is taking credit in the last couple of days for the creation of the modern laundromat that we are defending here - why our good friend and law and order man George Soros his fascist self.

[kiryandil]

The Ukies are creating new Buchas in this area as we type.

[aMorePerfectUnion]

—> Of course they say what they need to say about how bad the Russians are and how great the Ukrainians are. They don’t want to be taken out with the trash when the Ukrainians conduct their “purification” operations which the Ukrainians themselves have promised to do.

…

“Before you give a response comrade… consider that we only want pure Ukrainians to live here. And we know where you live, and your parents - and we would hate to classify you as a traitor to our motherland. You know what we must do to traitors, yes??”

“Tell us for the Reuters news just how you suffered under the evil Russians…”

[Paul R.]

As my Dad’s old Ukrainian friend told us kids (me and my 2 brothers) many years ago about why he fled Ukraine after WW II: “The Nazis were awful. The Russians were worse.”

[piroque]

Way to go ,,,,, Well at least it not CNN ,Nato ,biden , ukraine propaganda this time...

https://patriots.win/p/15JUCes3Fx/fbi-scouring-gateway-pundit-and-/c/

[ScottinVA]

You do know that FNC, NY Post, JustTheNews and NewsMax are all reporting the same news as seen here, right?

[Monterrosa-24]

Even CNN may have some news right like Vanderbilt lost to Wake Forest 45-25. Some scores and news from the Ukraine war MIGHT be worthy or not. The quality of sports reporting is pretty poor all over. And war reporting is even worse.

[DUMBGRUNT]

—”The Ukies are creating new Buchas in this area as we type.”

What sort of evidence do you have?

Nothing on Pravda?

Here is Pravda English PLS show the story.

https://english.pravda.ru/

How could they miss such an event?

Returning the slow Russian runners to the motherland, maybe even give them a new cell phone so they tell their tale of woe to the waiting multitude.

Russian morale is already in the toilet, this would flush it down the drain.

Not tomorrow or even next year, the Russian Federation will be gone.
China waiting patiently for the collapse will recover there lost lands and pick up some very low cost energy supplys.

[EarlyBird]

His captors at one point used wires to give electric shocks during interrogation, asking whereabouts of former military servicemen in the town. He could sometimes hear screams from his cell.

And these are the enlightened values that Putin is trying to impart to the rest of the world, the values that FR Pootie apologists on this site assure us that are better than Western values.

Puke, spit.

[UMCRevMom@aol.com]

Russia didn’t pay.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jun/16/ukraine-life-in-mariupol-under-russian-occupation

[House Atreides]

“Russia didn’t pay.”
**********************

Gee… I wonder where they got their rubles. Ukraine will of course pay them a lump sum of ALL their past pension payments that were NOT paid by Ukraine while the Russians were there?

[Widget Jr]

#9. The Pro-Russia crowd here knows. They don’t care.

[Cronos]

Bucha was Putin’s army committing atrocities.

As seen in the report above, that wasn’t the only place that Putin’s army has been hurting civilians.

It ain’t the Ukrainians doing it - it’s your guys, Putinistas.

[Cronos]

“pure Ukrainians” — you have no knowledge at all do you?

Ukrainians have tons of people with relatives or even both parents from Russia.

Their very president, Zelenskyy is a native Russian speaker as was Poroshenko

[Cronos]

payment of Ukrainian pensions (by the Russians) in rubles in those areas will end now

house Atrocious -- Russia in 1991 declared itself the successor state to the USSR, so inherited the USSR's seats in various international organizations but also inherited the USSR's debts and obligations

Just a note - the USSR declared that it WASN'T a successor state to the Russian Tsardom, so it was a new country - that's why the USSR and Soviet Ukraine occupied two separate seats in the UN

[ScottinVA]

#9. The Pro-Russia crowd here knows. They don’t care.

Their adoration of Putin overrides all other thought processes.

[aMorePerfectUnion]

I have both a Ukrainian immigrant and a Russian immigrant in my immediate family, so I know a few things…