Mass evacuation follows Ukrainian advance in Kursk region

Russian media cited Irina Tolmacheva, the spokesperson for the governor of the Kursk region, as saying that more than 1,700 residents have been evacuated in the last 24 hours.

"In the last 24 hours, 1,724 people have left the area on their own or in organised groups," Tolmacheva announced in a statement published on Telegram.

She emphasised that more than 6,500 evacuees are currently housed in 84 temporary accommodation centres in the Kursk region.

The spokesperson also noted that in 24 regions in Russia, 171 centres currently house nearly 10,000 evacuees, including about 3,000 children. The evacuation was carried out with the support of the Ministry of Emergency Situations employees, doctors, social care specialists, and volunteers.

In the context of military operations, the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army, Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, informed on Friday about the progress of Ukrainian forces, which "advanced that day by 1-3 kilometres in different directions in the Kursk region."

The Armed Forces of Ukraine launched an offensive operation in the Kursk region on Russian territory on 6 August. During this operation, hundreds of Russian prisoners were brought to Ukrainian territory, and bridges leading to Kursk were blown up, threatening to encircle thousands of Russian soldiers.