Ukraine’s unexpected cross-border offensive into Russia’s Kursk region, which began on August 6, surprised Moscow’s forces by its speed. While many of Putin’s inexperienced soldiers retreated in disarray, if not panic, many of them still had time to loot the homes of the 120,000 or so villagers who had been evacuated ahead of the advance.

In a video posted on X (formerly Twitter), a group of Russian soldiers can be seen cursing as they search a house somewhere in the Kursk region. The family’s belongings scattered on the floor testify that the house has already been looted, allegedly by a unit of the “Ministry of Defense.”

1/ A Russian soldier captured by Ukraine filmed himself looting an abandoned house in the Kursk region. The video was reportedly retrieved from his mobile phone and may confirm reports of widespread looting of its own civilians by the Russian military. ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/QsOuYExDdc

— ChrisO_wiki (@ChrisO_wiki) 12 August 2024

Pictures posted on a Russian social media site show a supermarket that was also looted. The blogger explained that “the abandonment of villages and towns has become a catalyst for excessive looting.”

Looting and a lack of military discipline were a typical feature of Russian soldiers in the first days of the large-scale Russian invasion. There were countless reports of military vehicles being loaded with the belongings of Ukrainians in occupied villages and towns. Everything that was not bolted down, and much that was bolted down, was taken.

Videos posted on YouTube and other social media platforms from the early days of the large-scale invasion in February 2022 show Russian troops blatantly raiding supermarkets for food and even robbing banks, as this March 2, 2022 post from the town of Verkhniy Rohachik in the Kherson region notes:

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The Kyiv Post reported on the extent of the looting from the liberated city of Kupiansk, which served for months as the seat of the Russian civil-military administration. Almost all furniture, televisions, washing machines, radiators, bathtubs and even toilets were salvaged from the houses. The farms lost their agricultural machinery and livestock, most of which was eaten by the poorly rationed troops.

Russian soldiers were observed sending dozens of packages containing loot, some of which weighed up to 450 kilograms, to Russia via a parcel service in the border town of Mazyr.

One week after the start of the invasion, Ukraine is said to have advanced 30 kilometers into the Kursk region and controls an area of ​​about 1,000 square kilometers and almost 30 settlements. Many of them are deserted except for destroyed Russian vehicles and dead soldiers.

Ukrainian military commander General Oleksandr Syrsky confirmed the successful offensive and said: “The troops are fulfilling their tasks. Fighting continues practically along the entire front line. The situation is under our control.”

The behavior of the Russian armed forces in recent days also shows a lack of military discipline. The destruction of a convoy by a missile attack on Friday near the village of Oktyabrskoye in Rylsky District – just one of many military columns that simply parked on the side of the road on their way to the combat zone – is an example of poor military judgment.

Another Russian military column was attacked and destroyed on Monday near the village of Krivitskie Budy in Belovsky District, about 30 kilometers from the Ukrainian-occupied territories. However, this was the result of a friendly fire incident. A Russian Ka-52M attack helicopter opened fire on its own military columns due to a mistaken identity, destroying military equipment, including a 152mm 2S19 Msta-S self-propelled howitzer, which Ukraine does not possess.

In his speech to the nation on Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin still called the Ukrainian offensive a “major terrorist provocation” and said: “The main task of the Defense Ministry, of course, is to expel the enemy from our territory.”

He said that for Kyiv, the obvious goal was to “sow discord and strife, intimidate (our) people and destroy the unity and cohesion of Russian society.”

The behavior of Putin’s own troops seems to achieve this goal quite effectively.