Moscow's local allies were told 'Russia is here for ever'. Now they flee Ukraine

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Source: The Guardian

Moscow’s local allies were told ‘Russia is here for ever’. Now they flee Ukraine

Supporters in shock as Kremlin reneges on vow that helped project power into captured towns and villages

Andrew Roth in Belgorod, Russia
Thu 15 Sep 2022 02.00 BST
Last modified on Thu 15 Sep 2022 02.07 BST

Just weeks ago, Irina was working in the Russian occupation administration in Kupiansk, a large town in northern Ukraine that had been captured days after Vladimir Putin launched his war against the country.

But then, as Russian troops fled the city and the Ukrainian army retook occupied territories in the country’s north, she and her family fled what they expected would be swift punishment for collaborating with the Russian invasion force.

Evidence emerging from the newly retaken territories indicates that Russian troops regularly used violence to put down any local dissent and maintain control. At the same time, some have said they welcomed and helped the Russians. Others listened to the insistence by Moscow-installed officials that they were there to stay for ever and decided to cooperate or simply try to live quietly under Russian rule.

For Moscow’s local allies, the sudden retreat of the Russian forces, who ceded some villages and towns with little resistance, was a turnaround bordering on betrayal.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/sep/15/ukraine-russia-local-allies-flee

[msongs]

1. the thousand minute reich nt