Russia offensive?

Kursk residents are now to be evacuated

Russia last published images from the Kursk region at the beginning of February. They show a Hurricane missile launcher.(Bild: AP)

Russia says it has reached an agreement with Ukraine and the Red Cross on the evacuation of residents of the embattled Russian region of Kursk. Is Moscow planning a new offensive around the third anniversary of its invasion of Ukraine?

Some residents are now in the neighboring Ukrainian region of Sumy, Russian human rights commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova said on Monday, according to the RIA Novosti news agency. "There is an agreement with the Red Cross and the Ukrainian side that they will be evacuated to Russia via Belarus."

Countless people still missing
Moskalkova did not say how many people are to be evacuated from Kursk as part of the agreement. According to a spokesperson, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is supporting evacuated civilians in the Sumy region. The spokesperson did not confirm the agreement.

An official list of missing persons compiled by the Russian authorities in the area occupied by Ukraine initially included around 500 people. According to local residents, however, the number is almost 3,000.

More than six months ago, Ukraine carried out a surprise attack on the neighboring Kursk region in Russia and captured dozens of villages, but was partially repulsed. Russia in turn occupies around 20 percent of Ukrainian territory.