‘The city is just gone’ Photos from Sudzha, back in Russian hands after seven months of Ukrainian control

Russian forces have regained control of Sudzha, the largest town in the Kursk region captured by the Ukrainian military in its August 2024 cross-border offensive. Regional authorities have announced plans to restore the settlements damaged in the fighting — with the exception of a destroyed grocery store, which the governor wants to leave intact as a “reminder of the occupation.” Residents who spent the last seven months living in areas under Ukrainian control are being evacuated, with officials promising they’ll be able to return “after clean-up operations.” However, not everyone wants to go back, some Sudzha residents who lived through the occupation told the independent journalists’ collective Bereg. Meduza shares photos of Sudzha after the fighting, originally published by Russian state media.

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