War in Ukraine, day 936 | Moscow orders evacuation of villages in Kursk region

(Moscow) Russia on Monday ordered the evacuation for “security” reasons of villages located less than 15 kilometers from Ukraine in the Russian region of Kursk, where Kyiv’s troops have been conducting an offensive since the beginning of August.

These areas have not been the scene of fighting so far and the Russian authorities have not detailed the reasons for this decision, which comes as Moscow has claimed in recent days the recapture of a dozen localities occupied in August by Ukrainian forces.

“Based on operational information, in order to ensure security, the regional headquarters decided on the mandatory evacuation of settlements in Rylsky and Khomutovsky districts located in the zone up to 15 kilometers from the border with Ukraine,” wrote Alexei Smirnov, acting governor of the Kursk region.

He called on residents to “understand” and “follow the official recommendations.” The official did not say how many people were affected.

“When evacuating, do not forget to take essential items and take care of your pets,” Kursk regional authorities said on their Telegram account.

On August 6, Ukraine launched a surprise attack in Russia’s Kursk region, taking Moscow by surprise and seizing several hundred square kilometers and dozens of localities.

This led to the evacuation of around 150,000 civilians, according to Russia.

The Russian army announced on Thursday that it had regained ground from Kyiv’s forces by launching a counteroffensive in the region. On Monday, it again claimed the recapture of two small villages, Ouspenovka and Borki.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga on Monday invited the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to visit the part of the Russian Kursk region occupied by Ukraine.

“Ukraine is ready to facilitate their work and prove its respect for international humanitarian law” in this territory, Mr. Sybiga said on X.

Russia has denounced the invitation and called on the UN and the Red Cross not to respond.

Questioned by the press, the spokesman for the Russian presidency, Dmitry Peskov, denounced a “pure provocation”.

“We hope that such provocative statements will not be taken into consideration by their recipients,” he added during his daily briefing.

“Long” way

Russian troops, for their part, occupy about 18% of Ukrainian territory, and Moscow claims the annexation of four regions of Ukraine, in addition to Crimea, which was already annexed in 2014.

ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric also arrived in Moscow on Monday for a long-planned visit. She is due to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday.

His trip comes just days after three Ukrainian ICRC employees were killed in a strike in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.

The victims were preparing to distribute wood briquettes and charcoal in a Ukrainian-controlled village near the front when their vehicles were hit by gunfire, according to the ICRC.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had attributed the attack to the Russian military.

He also assured on Friday that the offensive in Kursk had slowed Russian advances in eastern Ukraine, one of the announced goals of the operation.

“In the Kharkiv region (northeast) the enemy has been stopped, and its advance in the Donetsk region (east) has been slowed down, although it is very difficult there,” he said.

“There is still a long way to go,” Mr Zelensky said, however.

Lacking men and ammunition compared to Russia, Ukraine has been on the defensive for a year now.

Russian forces are gaining ground, particularly in eastern Ukraine, where they claim to have captured villages almost daily.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in early September that the Ukrainian operation in Kursk was a failure and that Russian forces “accelerated offensive operations” on the eastern front.

Russian troops are now just a few kilometers from the town of Pokorvsk, an important logistical hub for Kyiv’s forces in eastern Ukraine.