Ukraine on Thursday said 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.
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.
Photo: Reuters
“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 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a statement.
“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 Zelenskiy praising his fighters who have controlled swathes of Russian territory for the last six months.
Russia has been clawing territory back, but Ukraine still occupies dozens of border settlements around the regional hub of Sudzha.
The Kremlin had said earlier on Thursday that it was doing “everything” it could, but refused to comment publicly on the idea of a humanitarian corridor.
“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,” he said.
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.
Zelenskiy 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.
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