13 Russians who disappeared in the Kursk region were found in the Sumy region

13 residents of Russia’s Kursk region, who previously went missing during the operation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, were found in Ukraine’s Sumy region, said Tetyana Moskalkova, Commissioner for Human Rights in Russia. She said that negotiations are ongoing regarding their return to the Russian Federation.

Earlier, Moskalkova stated that she received messages from more than a thousand people who are looking for their relatives living in the border areas of the Kursk region. She turned to her Ukrainian colleague Dmytro Lubynets with a request for assistance in finding the Russians. In August, the Russian Red Cross received more than 1,500 applications to search for missing persons from this region.

Requests to search for relatives from the Kursk region, who stopped being in touch after the Ukrainian raids, were also sent en masse to the public organization “Lisa Alert”, which specializes in searching for missing people. Many of the missing people were found: they could not contact their relatives, because after the arrival of the Armed Forces, mobile communications were disconnected in the areas occupied by them.

There were unverified reports that some residents of Russian territories under the control of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were moved to the neighboring Sumy region of Ukraine. It is not known whether they moved voluntarily or forcibly. Their status in Ukraine is also unclear: civilians cannot be considered prisoners of war, they can hardly claim the status of refugees, and they do not have any visas to enter Ukraine.

The Ukrainian army entered the territory of the Kursk region of Russia on August 6. Fighting has continued in the region since then. The Armed Forces claim control over dozens of settlements, including the district center, the city of Suja. The Russian authorities either deny such information or do not comment.

In the territories under the control of the Armed Forces, all types of communication are disconnected. The Russians cannot contact their loved ones who live there, and do not know if they are alive. Almost no information is received from these places.