Ukraine said Thursday it was ready to open a humanitarian corridor to let hundreds of Russian civilians living in border areas seized by its army return to Russian-controlled territory, if Moscow requests one.
More than 1,500 civilians are still living in areas of Russia’s western Kursk region that Ukraine’s army seized in a shock cross-border offensive launched in August.
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Rare anger at the Russian authorities has since been growing among those who have lost contact with family members believed to be trapped without communication on the other side of the front line.
“We are ready to open a humanitarian corridor from Kursk region to the depths of Russia in response to an official request of the Russian Federation,” the office of President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a statement to AFP.
“Apparently, the Russians do not want such a humanitarian corridor, because we have not received a corresponding request from them,” the presidency said, accusing Moscow of “indifference” to the fate of its own citizens.
The offer to help facilitate their return comes as Russia said Ukrainian forces had attempted a fresh offensive in Kursk, with Zelensky praising his fighters who have controlled swathes of Russian territory for the last six months.
Russia has been clawing back ground, but Ukraine still occupies dozens of border settlements around the regional hub of Sudzha.
- New offensive -
The Kremlin had said earlier Thursday that it was doing “everything” it could, but refused to comment publicly on the idea of a humanitarian corridor.
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“This question depends on contacts which are conducted by our militaries. They, of course, cannot be carried out publicly,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
“The authorities are doing everything they can to provide help to our citizens, who have found themselves in such a difficult situation due to the aggressive actions of the Kyiv regime,” he added.
Peskov was responding to a question about calls from Russian citizens to open some kind of corridor to allow their relatives to return from areas taken under Ukraine’s control.
Kyiv’s attack into Russia’s Kursk region in August reshaped the nearly three-year war and was the first time a foreign army had taken control of Russian territory since World War II.
In a meeting with the region’s governor on Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged the situation was “very difficult” but did not address the growing anger over the fate of missing people.
Zelensky has hailed the operation as an important bargaining chip in future peace talks and said the capture of Russian soldiers there had helped Kyiv secure the return of its own prisoners of war.
Russia’s defence ministry said Thursday that its troops had “foiled” a new “counter-offensive” launched by Ukraine about 10 kilometres (six miles) from the border, to the southeast of the Ukrainian-controlled town of Sudzha.
Russia said Ukraine had deployed two mechanised battalions, tanks and armoured vehicles in the attempted attack.
There has been no comment on the fresh offensive from officials in Kyiv and AFP could not verify Russia’s statements or the extent of any fighting.
- ‘Peace through strength’ -
Zelensky on Thursday praised his troops for the Kursk offensive and issued several army units with state honours.
“The occupier can and should be beaten on its territory,” he said in a social media post.
“The Kursk operation clearly explains the meaning of the principle of ‘peace through strength’,” he said, referring to a message he has been promoting to secure ongoing military support from Ukraine’s Western partners.
Ukraine’s military said earlier Thursday it had taken 909 Russian soldiers captive during the operation, replenishing what Kyiv calls the “exchange fund” of POWs it can swap for captured Ukrainians.
Thursday marked six months since the start of the offensive.
Ukraine has facilitated the return of a handful of Russians, including children, who lived in villages and towns it captured, though there has been no mechanism for their mass return.
The spokesman for Ukraine’s army operating in Kursk, Oleksiy Dmytrashkivsky, told AFP on Thursday that a little over 1,500 Russians were still living in areas under Kyiv’s control.
Around six million Ukrainians, including 1.5 million children, live in areas of the country under Russia’s control, officials in Kyiv said last year.
Millions more were forced to flee their homes in the east and south when Russia invaded in February 2022.
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