Ukraine establishes first military command in Kursk Region

Ukraine has set up a military command in Russia’s Kursk region, headed by Major General Eduard Moskaliov, as reported by Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi, during a briefing to President Zelenskyy.

“The search for and destruction of enemy forces in the settlement of Sudzha and three other areas in Kursk Region have been completed. To maintain law and order and address the primary needs of the population in these controlled areas, a military command has been established,” Syrskyi explained.

One of the main functions of the command is to get humanitarian aid to residents who still remain in the area, said Verkhovna Rada (the parliament) Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets. The command also has the task of interacting with local authorities, organizing security at important sites, as well as ensuring that the military receives everything it requires.

Currently, Ukrainian authorities are focusing on providing humanitarian aid to the civilian population of the Kursk Region. Specifically, they plan a humanitarian corridor and are considering the feasibility of evacuating Russian civilians to the Sumy Region, according to Iryna Vereshchuk, the Deputy PM for Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine.

Furthermore, representatives from Ukraine and Russia are undertaking negotiations on prisoner exchanges, in light of the Kursk Region operation, as reported by The Financial Times.  The newspaper cites sources from Ukrainian intelligence to support this news. The precise number of captured Russians is not known, but is likely to be counted in the hundreds, some journalists calculate.

As of August 15, Ukrainian troops took control of more than 80 settlements, as reported by Colonel General Syrskyi. The Russian territory controlled by Kyiv has increased to 1150 km².

As active combat operations continue, the Ukrainian advance pushes in the direction of the cities of Korenevo and Lgov. A further aim of the military is to isolate the Glushkovsky district of Kursk. Region, writes BILD.