The AFU said the Russian offensive in the Kursk region has been “stopped”
Kyiv • UNN
The Ukrainian military has said that the Russian counter-offensive in Kursk Region has been halted. Thousands of Russian civilians are being assisted on the territory occupied by the Ukrainians.
Russia's counteroffensive to retake the territory seized by Ukrainian troops in the Kursk region has been “stopped”. This was reported by AFP citing a representative of the AFU commandant's office and Ukrainian Defense Ministry spokesman Oleksiy Dmytrashkivskyy, reports UNN.
Earlier this month, Russia said it had recaptured several villages from Ukraine in the Kursk region, where Kiev had taken control of tracts of land since its surprise invasion in early August.
“They tried to attack from the flanks, but they were stopped there,” spokesman Oleksiy Dmitrashkivskyi told AFP.
“The situation has stabilized and everything is under control today, they didn't succeed,” he said.
Dmytraszkiewski also said there were “several thousand” Russian civilians in 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 Kiev-controlled areas, saying only that about 130,000 had fled.
A Ukrainian military official acknowledged “some minor success” for Moscow.
“The Russians entered one of the settlements. They started fighting for another settlement, but that's all,” he said.
AFP has not been able to verify these claims.
Dmytraszkiewski also said Russian strikes on the area as it tries to retake land have killed “23 civilians” since late August, saying they were “dying along with the Ukrainian military.
He said civilians were “not allowed to leave” because “the situation must be controlled,” but they were allowed to “move around” the neighborhood.
They can “visit each other, eat there, unite somewhere, dig potatoes now, work in the garden,” Dimitrashkivsky said.
The territory held by Ukraine is described as wooded and mostly rural, small settlements.
He said the only way civilians could be allowed to leave russia-controlled territory is if Ukraine and russia “agree through international organizations that deal with these issues to open a green corridor under the supervision of observers.
Kiev this week invited the UN to inspect the situation in its held territory in the Kursk region, a move that drew the ire of Muscovy.
Dmytraszkiewski said food is brought into the area from neighboring Ukrainian Sumy Oblast.
“Sumy regional administration allocates funds for bread on a weekly basis. The military provides water, the administration issues food packages,” he said.
“Nothing works there, no stores, no pharmacies, nothing.
