Ukrainian Attack on Kursk Kills 56

Between 70 and 120 civilians, including 15 children, are being held by Ukraine in the city of Sudzha.(Anadolu)

RUSSIA says at least 56 people have been killed since the start of Ukraine’s offensive into the country’s Kursk border region in August. Between 70 and 120 civilians, including 15 children, are being held by Ukraine at a social institution in the town of Sudzha.

“By the end of last week, 266 people were injured. (Since) the start of the (Ukrainian) attacks, 56 people, including 11 children, have been killed,” Russian Ambassador Rodion Miroshnik said at a press conference in the capital Moscow, as reported by Anadolu, Tuesday (24/9).

Miroshnik said that all the details about the consequences of the Ukrainian attack on the border area will come out only after Russia establishes full control and pushes Ukrainian troops out. According to him, the Ukrainian military is holding between 70 and 120 civilians, including 15 children, in a social institution in the town of Sudzha.

Ukrainian authorities have not commented on Miroshnik’s claims, and independent verification of them is difficult due to the ongoing war. Kyiv’s offensive in the Kursk region began on the evening of August 6, when Ukrainian forces entered the area near Sudzha, located about 10 kilometers from the border.

Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Kyiv of large-scale provocation and indiscriminate shooting, and called the attack a terrorist attack.

Days later, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky admitted that it was an operation carried out by Ukrainian forces, and stated that its purpose was to create a buffer zone against cross-border attacks by Russia. (I-2)