The UN human rights office (UNHCR) has requested access to regions in Russia affected by Ukraine’s cross-border campaign, amid reports of evacuations and military operations in the area. While Russia has not granted access to the UNHCR, Ukraine has promised humanitarian corridors for evacuating civilians towards both Russia and Ukraine. In Kursk, hundreds of evacuees were seen queueing for food and clothes distributed by the Russian Red Cross.
Ukrainian military commander Col Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi announced the establishment of a military commandant’s office in occupied Kursk to maintain order and meet the needs of the local population. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced that Ukrainian troops had taken control of the Russian town of Sudzha, a strategic location for Russian gas infrastructure.
Despite recent gains in Ukrainian-controlled areas, Russian forces have been advancing steadily in the central section of Donbas oblast, pressing towards the strategic junction of Pokrovsk. Russia claimed to have taken control of Ivanivka, 16km from Pokrovsk, although reports of heavy fighting in the area remain unverified.
Ukraine’s Security Service reported the capture of over 100 Russian soldiers in Kursk, including members of Russia’s 488th Guards Motorized Rifle Regiment. The soldiers were held in a well-fortified stronghold and would be exchanged for Ukrainian prisoners of war. The incident marks the largest number of Russian soldiers captured at once since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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