Kremlin claims Sudzha residents did not request humanitarian corridor
Dmitry Peskov, Vladimir Putin's press secretary, says the Kremlin has received no evacuation requests from residents of Sudzha, a town in Russia's Kursk Oblast that is currently under Ukrainian control.
Source: Russian media outlets Podyem and Kommersant
Quote: "Honestly, this is the first I’ve heard of it [the request to organise a humanitarian corridor for evacuation – ed.]. We haven’t seen this, unfortunately, and haven’t received any requests in this regard."
Details: Kommersant reported on 13 September that residents of the Sudzha district in Kursk Oblast had written to the presidents of Russia and Ukraine to request that a humanitarian corridor "for the evacuation of civilians" be opened immediately.
Media reports said residents appended a list of family members and friends who are in the territory held by Ukraine's Armed Forces. There were 186 names on the list, including 7 minors. According to reports, most of the families have no idea what has happened to their loved ones.
Kommersant said the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) had asked Russia and Ukraine to organise negotiations on the humanitarian corridor but apparently received no answer.
Why this is important:
- The operation in Kursk Oblast began on 6 August. On 10 August, day five of the Ukrainian army's offensive deep into Russia, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy acknowledged that Ukraine had brought the war to Russian territory.
- On 27 August, Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said that since the beginning of the operation in Kursk Oblast, Ukraine had captured 594 Russian soldiers and controlled more than 100 settlements, or 1,294 sq km of territory.
- Ukrainian troops began giving out humanitarian aid to people in Sudzha on day one of the operation, and this has been documented by many media outlets. Ukrainska Pravda has also visited Sudzha and spoken with local people.
- Iryna Vereshchuk, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister at the time, stressed that Russian civilians within the buffer zone are protected by international humanitarian law, which Ukraine fully complies with.
- She said Ukrainian military forces were planning humanitarian operations to help civilians; the establishment of humanitarian corridors for evacuation to both Russia and Ukraine; and the entry of international humanitarian organisations to provide a humanitarian response and monitor the situation.
- Early on, President Zelenskyy also brought up the issue of establishing military commandants' offices if required in the territories of Kursk Oblast controlled by Ukraine's defence forces.
- It was also reported that Ukraine is prepared to provide schooling to children in Kursk Oblast if need be.
- On 16 September, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry invited the UN and the ICRC to join humanitarian response efforts in the areas of Russia's Kursk Oblast currently controlled by Ukrainian forces.
- Peskov described Ukraine's invitation as "a provocation", adding that Russia expects the UN and the ICRC to reject it.
- Heorhii Tykhyi, spokesperson for Ukraine's Foreign Ministry, said in response that Russia is afraid of international observers seeing the true state of affairs in the region.
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