More than 100 Russian civilians have been left to Ukraine following a lethal strike on an air-raid shelter in the Ukrainian-occupied town of Sudzha in southwestern Russias Kursk area this month, the Washington Postreported Wednesday.Kyiv and Moscow have pointed fingers at each other over a Feb.
1 strike that eliminated a minimum of 5 individuals and left others under the debris of a boarding school dormitory that worked as an air-raid shelter and humanitarian aid hub.The attack in Sudzha occurred as Russia races to retake area that Ukrainian forces captured during a surprise cross-border attack in August 2024.
Ukraine left the civilians into its northeastern Sumy region after the Feb.
1 attack.
According to the Washington Post, the evacuation is the largest motion of Russian civilians considering that the attack began.Ukraine will try to reach a contract with Russia that would allow evacuees to return to Russia via neighboring Belarus.
Comparable contracts for smaller groups have been reached previously.Kursk-based activist Lyubov Prilutskayaconfirmed to the investigative news outlet Agentstvo that around 110 evacuees were currently in the town of Sumy.Around 2,000 residentsremain in occupied Sudzha without heating or drinking water, according to independent news site Novaya Gazeta, which reported last week that Ukrainian volunteers assist them survive.Russias Human Rights Commissioner Tatiana Moskalkova said this week she remained in talks with Ukraine and the Red Cross to open a humanitarian corridor for Russian civilians stranded behind Ukrainian lines.