“The Ukrainian Armed Forces announced that the Russian offensive in the Kursk region has been “stopped” The Ukrainian military has announced that the Russian counteroffensive in the Kursk region has stopped. There are thousands of Russian civilians on the territory occupied by the Ukrainians, who are being helped.”, — write on: unn.ua
Earlier this month, Russia said it had recaptured several villages in Ukraine’s Kursk region, where Kyiv has taken control of swaths of land since its surprise invasion in early August.
“They tried to attack from the flanks, but they were stopped there,” press secretary Oleksiy Dmytrashkivskyi told AFP.
“The situation has stabilized, and today everything is under control, they did not succeed,” he said.
Dmytroshkivskyi also said that there are “several thousand” Russian civilians in the areas occupied by Ukrainian troops.
“In some settlements there are more than 100 people, more than 200, more than 500,” he said.
Russia did not say how many of its civilians remained in Kyiv-controlled areas, saying only that about 130,000 had fled.
A Ukrainian military official acknowledged “some minor success” by Moscow.
“The Russians entered one of the villages. They started fighting for another village, but that’s all,” he said.
AFP could not verify these claims.
Dmytroshkivskyi also said that Russian strikes on the area as it tries to retake the land have killed “23 civilians” since late August, saying they are “dying with the Ukrainian military.”
He said civilians were “not allowed to leave” because “the situation needs to be controlled” but they were allowed to “move” around the area.
They can “visit each other, eat there, unite somewhere, dig potatoes now, work in the garden,” said Dmytrashkivskyi.
The territory held by Ukraine is described as forested and mostly rural, with small settlements.
He said the only way civilians could be allowed to leave Russian-controlled territory was if Ukraine and Russia “arrange through international organizations dealing with these issues to open a green corridor under the supervision of observers.”
This week, Kyiv invited the UN to check the situation in the territory it holds in the Kursk region, which angered Moscow.
Dmytrashkivskyi said that food is brought to this area from the neighboring Sumy region of Ukraine.
“The Sumy regional administration allocates funds for bread every week. The military is provided with water, the administration issues food kits,” he said.
“Nothing works there, no shops, no pharmacies, nothing.”
It provides medical aid to civilians and provides products: how the Ukrainian commandant’s office works in the Kursk regionSeptember 4, 2024, 18:42 • 35712 views