Kyiv opens hotline for Russian citizens in Kursk Oblast to request aid, evacuation to Ukraine

Ukraine has opened a hotline for Russian citizens in Kursk Oblast who wish to receive humanitarian aid or want to be evacuated to Ukraine amid the ongoing fighting in the area, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on Aug. 14.

Writing in Russian so that "Russians can understand," Vereshchuk said that Ukraine "must be prepared to receive Russian refugees."

"The Reintegration Ministry opened a 24-hour hotline for residents of Kursk Oblast who need humanitarian aid or want to evacuate to Ukraine," she wrote. The Kyiv Independent has reached out to Vereshchuk's office for comment on the hotline and potential evacuation of Russians into Ukraine, but has not received an answer at the time of this publication.

Ukraine's cross-border incursion into neighboring Kursk Oblast began on Aug. 6, and by Aug. 13, Ukraine said it controlled 74 settlements in the region. As the Russian territory under Ukrainian control has expanded, questions have arisen about how the areas should be managed.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Aug. 14 that the creation of different civil administrative bodies in Kursk Oblast should not be ruled out. Ukraine's Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said on national television that military command posts "will be needed to provide humanitarian aid to local residents."

Separately, Vereshchuk said on Aug. 14 that Ukraine's military is creating a "security zone" on Russian territory to protect Ukrainian border areas.

There are Russian civilians in the area, Vereshchuk said, which necessitates a response that adheres to international law.

Vereshchuk said that Ukraine would be conducting humanitarian operations in the area, including creating safe corridors for civilians to evacuate — both toward Ukraine and to other parts of Russia.

Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said on Aug. 14 that Russian civilians residing in parts of Kursk Oblast where fighting has been ongoing had been "abandoned" by authorities, who fled without leaving in place basic humanitarian necessities. The Interior Ministry would assist in the provision of food, water, medicine, and hygiene products to help support the local civilian population, Klymenko added.

According to Russian authorities, some 121,000 residents of Kursk Oblast have been evacuated so far, and a preliminary total of 180,000 evacuations is planned.

As Ukraine’s Kursk incursion wins US support, will fears of Russian escalation fade?

Russia has a “real dilemma,” U.S. President Joe Biden said on Aug. 13, seven days after Ukrainian forces launched a surprise cross-border incursion into Kursk Oblast. On the defensive side of the full-scale war for the first time, Moscow is in an unexpected bind. “It’s creating a real dilemma

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