Ukrainian forces have never occupied the Glushkov district of the Kursk region. Meanwhile, looting by Russian soldiers in the region is well documented, with numerous pieces of evidence available online. Cases of looting by Russian soldiers have even been confirmed by local authorities.
The Russian state media is spreading yet another narrative about alleged looting by Ukrainian soldiers in the Kursk region.
“According to the agency’s (TASS – ed.) source, their acquaintances returned to a village in the Glushkov district and found that ‘everything in the house had been chopped up, overturned, and some things had been taken by the Ukrainian armed forces. Sometimes people return to houses with completely bare walls,’ said one medic.”
Russian propaganda often uses disinformation about alleged looting by Ukrainian soldiers in conflict zones to influence both Ukrainian residents in those areas and international audiences, with the goal of discrediting the Ukrainian military.
However, accusations of looting by Ukrainian soldiers in the Kursk region, particularly in the Glushkov district, are unfounded. The main reason is that Ukrainian forces never occupied this area, as confirmed by DeepState maps, where Ukrainian-controlled areas are marked in dark blue.
Incidents of looting and theft have been reported in this district, but the perpetrators were not Ukrainians. For example, a BBC Russian Service article highlights a couple from Korenevo who returned to their home to find it in disarray and that their “hunting rifles, knives, hunting binoculars, welding machine, laptop, TV, vacuum cleaner and even a car (‘Lada’)” had been stolen.
“They found ‘Army of Russia’ shampoos in the bathroom, Russian army headlights in the living room, UAZ tires and someone else’s car in the garage,” one local resident explained. She later discovered that Russian soldiers had been staying in her house.
Local Telegram channels also published videos showing men in Russian military uniforms looting a mobile phone store in Glushkovo. It was later confirmed that these were Russian soldiers, one of whom was from Chechnya.
Looting in the district was also discussed at meetings between local residents and officials. The former governor of the Kursk region and Russian Minister of Transport Roman Starovoit admitted that looting in the Glushkov district was carried out not only by locals, but also by Russian soldiers. He also confirmed cases of stolen goods being sent to other regions of Russia via courier services.
Previously, StopFake debunked a similar fake claim that Ukrainian forces were caught looting in the Kursk region.
