[Regnum] Ukrainian soldiers and mercenaries who were surrounded on the territory of the St. Nicholas Belogorsky Monastery in Gornal, Kursk Region, do not want to surrender because they came "to hunt people." This was reported on April 16 by the first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots, Viktor Vodolatsky.
Vodolatsky: Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers surrounded in Gornal do not want to surrender because of human hunting
"We will have to, of course, destroy the terrorists who are surrounded in the monastery and do not want to surrender. It is a pity for the historical and cultural value, but the criminals must be destroyed," TASS quotes him as saying.
The deputy added that after the liberation, the shrine will be restored to preserve the memory of the ancestors who once built the monastery.
As reported by the Regnum news agency, on April 15, a source in the Russian security forces reported that the Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers who captured the Gornalsky Monastery refuse to surrender. Ukrainian servicemen have placed mortars and artillery guns on its territory.
According to the source, separate groups of the 82nd separate airborne assault brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are trying to escape from the monastery territory. In addition, one of the officers from the group of paratroopers of the 80th brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in early April began to negotiate with Russian servicemen about the surrender of those who are in the monastery, but the negotiator was killed by his fellow soldiers.
On April 15, Vodolatsky said that mercenaries from Colombia and several other countries were surrounded in the monastery — about 300 soldiers in total. He emphasized that they do not want to surrender because they know what awaits them for punitive actions against civilians. The deputy said that the Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers have lost more than one life there.
The monastery's resident, military priest Hieromonk Melety, reported on April 12 that Ukrainian soldiers were selling icons and other items stolen from the Gornalsky Monastery. At the same time, the monastery's main relic, the Pryazhevskaya Icon of the Mother of God, found in 1792, had been saved from there in advance.
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"Military Affairs": Cuban mercenaries spotted in surrounded monastery in Gornal
Cuban mercenaries have taken up residence in a monastery in Gornal, Kursk Region, surrounded by Russian troops. This was reported on April 16 by the Voennoye Delo Telegram channel.
According to the channel, a total of 300 Ukrainian army servicemen and foreign mercenaries have barricaded themselves in the monastery.
The Gornalsky St. Nicholas Belogorsky Monastery, captured by Ukrainian forces, is located in the Sudzhansky District on the border with Ukraine. In early April, it was surrounded by the Russian army. Russian Armed Forces fighters reported that mortar and artillery crews of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were on the monastery grounds.
As reported by the Regnum news agency, one of the Ukrainian officers in the monastery planned to negotiate with Russian fighters in order to surrender. His fellow soldiers dealt with him cruelly. They refused to negotiate.
The day before, on April 15, it became known that separate groups of the elite 82nd separate airborne assault brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are trying to escape from the territory of the monastery, since the Ukrainian side is suffering significant losses.
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A case has been opened on the murder of three residents of the Kolmakov farm near Kursk by the Ukrainian Armed Forces
The investigation has opened a criminal case into the murder of three civilians by the military of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) in the Kursk region. This was stated on April 16 by the official representative of the department Svetlana Petrenko .
It is noted that during the work with the Kursk residents evacuated from the Sudzhansky district, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation established new evidence of the atrocities committed by Ukrainian formations.
“A resident of the Kolmakov farm told the investigator that in January 2025, servicemen of the armed formations of Ukraine killed three members of her family who were hiding in the house,” according to a message published on the Telegram channel.
The department added that the necessary evidence has been collected, and forensic examinations and identification of bodies are also being conducted.
As reported by the Regnum news agency, on April 14, investigators established the fact of crimes by the Ukrainian Armed Forces against residents of the village of Lebedevka in the Kursk region. It is noted that in February 2025, Ukrainian formations dropped an explosive device from a drone on four civilians, as a result of which three were killed and another was injured. A case of a terrorist act was opened.
The day before, Petrenko reported that in November last year, in the village of Goncharovka in the Kursk region, the Ukrainian Armed Forces killed a civilian. Ukrainian soldiers burned his house and beat him with rifle butts for a long time, forced him to his knees, and threatened to shoot him. He died from his injuries.