Kursk Residents Tell Putin He’s Being Lied to About Ukraine Attack

“These lies are leading to the deaths of local residents. The chief of staff recently told you that the situation is under control,” one resident said in the video, according to one media outlet. Translated from CNN.

“But now there is large-scale, intense fighting in the Sudjansky and Korenevsky districts,” she said.

The footage was published by Native Sudzha, a Russian Telegram channel that covers news from the region.

Residents said they had lost their homes to Ukrainian attacks and were forced to rely on Telegram channels for news rather than local authorities.

Many said they had been forced to evacuate in such a hurry that they were unable to take travel documents or identity cards with them, and that authorities should have known Ukraine was deploying troops to the border.

“We have no place to go, no compensation, no money, we are left alone with our children. We fled with just the clothes on our backs,” one woman said, as translated by CNN.

One man addressed Putin directly, claiming that residents of the town of Guevo in Suzha province had been refused evacuations by the authorities and were left stranded in the middle of the fighting.

Guebo is Reporting from open source information It is one of more than a dozen Russian villages now under Ukrainian control.

The Russian Defense Ministry and Putin’s press team did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s requests for comment sent outside regular business hours.

Ukrainian troops advance on Kursk

Kiev’s forces launched their advance into Kursk on Wednesday, with several Ukrainian armoured vehicles spotted fighting nine miles deep into Russian territory.

Russia said Ukraine had deployed about 1,000 troops and 40 armored vehiclesThe Russian government called the attack a “major provocation.”

About 80 miles to the southeast, Russia launched a similar operation in May, moving troops into the Kharkiv region of Ukraine, opening a new front.

Ukraine has said little about its attacks on Russia, but presidential adviser Mykhailo Podoljak acknowledged Ukrainian pressure in a social media statement on Thursday.

“A significant portion of the global community now considers the RF a legitimate target for all manner of operations and weapons.” Podoljak wrote to X.Refers to the Russian military.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky Thursday’s speech He said Russia “should know what it has done” to Ukraine, but did not directly mention the invasion.

At a meeting convened by Putin on Wednesday, Russian military commanders Reported by Valery Gerasimov The Ukrainian advance was halted and Kiev’s forces claimed heavy losses.

Kursk’s acting governor, Alexei Smirnov, said the situation was “under control.” Statement via Telegram. He urged residents not to panic.

But Russian sources and footage of the skirmishes in Kursk show fighting remains intense.

The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, has geographically identified at least two areas where Ukrainian forces have breached Russian defenses.

“The skies are completely dominated by Ukrainian drones” Written by military blogger VChK-OPGUHe was arrested on Thursday and is said to have ties to the Russian military.

Meanwhile, Putin announced a one-time payment of 10,000 rubles ($115) to provide relief to residents of Kursk affected by the attack. According to state media.