The counteroffensive of the russian forces with the aim of recapturing the territory in the Kursk Oblast, which is under the control of the Defense Forces of Ukraine, has been "stopped".
Oleksii Dmytrashkivskyi, a representative of the military commander's office in the Kursk Oblast and spokesman for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, told AFP about this.
Thus, it is indicated that earlier this month, russia announced that it had captured several villages in the Kursk Oblast, where Kyiv held territory after its surprise operation in early August.
"They tried to attack from the flanks, but they were stopped. The situation was stabilized, and today everything is under control, they did not succeed," he said.
Dmytrashkivskyi also noted that there are "several thousand" russian civilians in the territories occupied by Ukrainian troops.
"In some settlements there are more than 100 people, more than 200, more than 500," he said.
Russia has not said how many of its civilians remain in Kyiv-controlled territories, saying only that about 130,000 have fled.
At the same time, a Ukrainian military official recognized "some minor success" by Moscow.
"The russians entered one of the settlements. They started fighting for another settlement, but that's all," he said.
The AFP is said to have been unable to verify the statements.
Dmytrashkivskyi also said that as a result of russian strikes in the area, when russia began trying to retake the territory, "23 civilians" were killed since the end of August, saying that they "are dying together with the Ukrainian military."
He said civilians were "not allowed to leave" because "the situation must be under control" but they were allowed to "move around" the area.
"They can visit each other, eat there, get together somewhere, dig potatoes, work in the garden," Dmytrashkivskyi said.
The territory held by Ukraine is described as forested and mostly consists of small rural settlements.
According to him, the only way the civilian population will be able to leave to the russian-controlled territory is if Ukraine and russia "agree through international organizations, dealing with these issues, to open a green corridor under the supervision of observers."
We will remind, according to Dmytrashkivskyi, food products are brought to this area from the neighboring Sumy Region.
"The Sumy Regional Administration allocates funds for bread every week. The Armed Forces provide water, the administration gives food kits. Nothing works there, no shops, no pharmacies, nothing," he said.
We will remind you that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine appealed to the UN and ICRC to join the humanitarian response measures in the Kursk Oblast of the russian federation, which are under the control of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This is stated in the statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs believes that the Kremlin's reaction to the possibility of the UN and ICRC arriving in the Kursk Oblast indicates, in particular, the fear of the russian authorities that international observers will see the real situation in the region.
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