MOSCOW, August 21. /TASS/. Civilians in the frontline part of the Kharkov Region remained in their settlements because Ukrainian servicemen shot at them and attacked them with drones when they tried to leave, Yevgeny Lisnyak, deputy head of the regional military-civilian administration for defense and security, told TASS.

"People were simply surviving as best they could on their remaining supplies. Those who didn’t have access to wells drank rainwater. The worst part began when someone tried to make their way on their own toward Russian positions. According to those who were evacuated, such people were openly shot: either with small arms or by drones. For those who remained, this was a signal that there was no turning back and that they had already been erased," Lisnyak said.

He added that people lived in damp basements for months. "Most survived on what they'd stockpiled before the front line closed in: Jars of pickles, canned goods, and whatever they’d grown in their gardens were their entire 'food ration' for months. People saved every jar, shared it by the spoonful, and counted the days," the politician noted.

Lisnyak added that people’s lives changed when Russian soldiers arrived: they provided civilians with food, water, and medical care, and distributed necessary medications. For the first time in several months, many were able to leave their shelters and evacuate to Russia.

"The evacuees themselves say it plainly: they felt abandoned. Ukraine had effectively turned its back on these people. This realization did not come from propaganda but from their own experience. Now that they are safe, they are gradually recovering, although restoring their psychological well-being after the horrors of the Ukrainian occupation is a difficult and lengthy process," Lisnyak concluded.