Residents of Sudzha district and other border areas of Russia’s Kursk region who fled their homes after the fighting in August 2024 say they still cannot return, lack adequate compensation, and face serious obstacles in securing new housing. The report, first published by the Vetter project, says displaced people planned to gather in Kursk’s Red Square on March 22 to question regional officials about their future, but the meeting did not take place after police summoned activists for so-called preventive talks.
Alexander, from Zamostye, recalls that the first shelling began at about 3 a.m. on August 6, 2024. The next day he took his wife and children to Kursk, then returned for his father, whom he managed to evacuate on August 8. He says some neighbors were unable or unwilling to leave, and he still does not know what happened to several of those who stayed behind.
Alexander’s family now rents housing in Kursk, but he says officials treated his attempt to obtain compensation for two apartments as fraud, even though he and his father had separate homes before the war. Rental payments introduced in November 2024 do not cover actual market prices, and the cancellation of the presidential 65,000-ruble payment, which only began in February 2025, has made the family’s situation even worse.
Displaced residents also describe problems with housing certificates. They say the sums often do not match market prices and do not cover repairs, furniture, or appliances, while people with several homes registered in one name still receive only one certificate. At the same time, many continue paying mortgages and other loans on destroyed property.
“I don’t know,” Alexander said when asked how his family would live after the payments were canceled. His wife, overhearing the conversation, added: “We’ll put up a tent.”
Natalya, whose parents lived on the Ivashkovsky farmstead, said her father stayed behind during the advance because he believed the situation would be resolved quickly. Irina, another displaced resident from Sudzha, says she pays 35,000 rubles in rent plus utilities, while her children struggle with repeated moves and constant uncertainty. According to the people interviewed, they still have not received systematic psychological support, stable assistance, or clear housing solutions.