Destroyed Lyptsi from the air

Lyptsi was occupied by Russian forces for almost seven months. In September 2022 it was liberated during Ukraine’s autumn counter-offensive.

By then there were only a thousand people living there, barely a quarter of its pre-war population. Most of its inhabitants, it is believed, were forced to move to Russia.

In an interview with the Suspilne media outlet Anton Yevtushenko, deputy head of the Derhachí district prosecutor’s office, commented: “I think that 80% of the villagers were forcibly deported or pressured into leaving by Russian soldiers.”

Almost every house in Lyptsi was damaged or destroyed by Russian shells.