When the Russian occupiers entered Popasna on May 8, they took all the cityʼs residents to the previously occupied city of Pervomaisk. Now the Russians have allowed people to return to Popasna on foot.
Mykola Khanatov, the head of the Popasna City Military-Civil Administration, announced this on the air of the national telethon.
According to him, about one and a half thousand people remained in Popasna immediately after the occupation.
Mykola Khanatov said that now the city was completely destroyed, everything that survived was looted by the Russians. It is currently not possible to quickly restore destroyed communications.
“On the streets on both sides of the road, the bodies of dead civilians and soldiers, an unpleasant odor in the city. There is information that Ukrainian defenders are killed in almost every entrance. They even call the night address where the three bodies of our defenders are and they have been there for some time, no one cleans them, hides them, passes them on,” said the head of the military-civil administration.
He added that the Russian occupiers did not allow him to leave occupied Popasna towards Ukraine. Allow to go only to Russia. Most people refuse to go to Russia, although some go there and then go to Europe.
Mykola Khanatov also said that in the neighboring town of Komyshuvakha, 60 people were hiding in the church from shelling. The Kadyrov occupiers went there. They made a video in which they assured that they would bring medicine, fuel for generators to people, and the next day they took everyone to the city of Pervomaisk.
"I think it will be the same story: now their property will be stolen, and then they will be allowed to walk to Komyshuvakha," Khanatov said.