KURSK, February 14. /TASS/. Half of the people living in the village of Nikolayevo-Daryino in Russia’s borderline Kursk Region, which was seized by Ukrainian troops, died before the village was liberated by Russian forces, Russian foreign ministry ambassador at large Rodion Miroshnik said.
"We have received data about people who lost their relatives who had been degraded, tortured, shot and killed. For instance, in Nikolayevo-Daryino, half of residents who were residing in the village when it was seized [by Ukrainian troops] died due to various causes before it was liberated," he said while visiting the region.
According to Miroshnik, he spoke with people who were evacuated from the area. "According to these people, and the law enforcement are working based on their testimonies, people died due to the absence of medical assistance, from Ukraine’s direct actions - shooting at people. There is evidence that unarmed civilians were shot in the back and in the head," he said.
Several people were hurt by targeted drone strikes, artillery and missile attacks, he said, adding that Vladimir Zelensky’s statements on Ukrainian troops practicing "good behavior" in the Kursk Region are not true. "He told a British company that Ukrainian militants were behaving very well in the Kursk Region, helping the locals, who saw this as their good fortune. And my task was to collect evidence that Zelensky’s statements are absolute lies," he added.