Families forced to leave their homes in Russia’s Kursk region amid Ukraine’s cross-border offensive wept on television after being evacuated to Crimea, which is regularly hit by Ukrainian drones and missiles.
Hundreds of evacuees from the Ukraine counter-offensive inside Russia have been sent to the peninsula annexed by Russia from Ukraine in 2014.
The displaced are reportedly being paid to relocate to Crimea as Moscow’s forces attempt to repel the Ukrainian advance in Kursk, despite regular Ukrainian warnings that it is unsafe for Russians to travel to the peninsula due to the ongoing war.
Ukraine earlier today hit the peninsula with multiple thunderous attacks close to the £3 billion Kerch Bridge that links Crimea to the Russian mainland.
Displaced people are being housed in vacant tourist complexes and sanatoriums where there is space because regular summer tourists have been scared away.
Families forced to leave their homes in Russia ‘s Kursk region amid Ukraine’s cross-border offensive wept on television as they learned they were being evacuated to Crimea
The displaced are reportedly being paid to relocate to Crimea as Moscow ‘s forces attempt to repel the Ukrainian advance in Kursk
A Ukrainian tank passes by a burning car near the Russian-Ukrainian border, Sumy region, Ukraine, Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024
A handout picture made available by Russian Emergency ministry press service shows evacuated people from Belgorod and Kursk regions arriving to temporary accommodation points in Nevinnomyssk in Stavropolsky Kray, Russia
War-displaced people receive humanitarian aid at a Russian Red Cross distribution point in Kursk on August 15, 2024
One evacuee named Maria told Russian state television had been taken to Kursk city from her village of Peschanoye in the Belovsky district – territory at risk of Ukrainian invasion.
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She was told by officials to go to Crimea ‘because there are constant missile attacks [in Kursk] and it is very scary’.
Another evacuee, Svetlana, from the Bolshesoldatsky district, said: ‘They started declaring a missile threat often, it was very scary.
‘Then they found out about Sudzha [being under siege], and drones started flying.
‘They gathered us all and took us to Kursk [city], where we lived in a temporary accommodation centre.
‘And the day before yesterday they called and offered to get us to Crimea. Thank God, they gave us a cash payment, they helped us a lot.’
Svetlana, who went to Crimea with two children and her elderly mother, said through tears she was worried that they did not have time to gather winter clothes.
‘We only have what we are standing in,’ she said.
‘That’s what we managed to leave in. We really hope that we will not need them here in Crimea.
‘We believe that we will return home before the cold weather sets in.’
She said: ‘Just let us get our bearings and calm down.’
Evacuated people from Belgorod and Kursk regions arriving to temporary accommodation points in Nevinnomyssk in Stavropolsky Krai, Russia
Evacuated people in the Kursk region queue to fill out the form for humanitarian aid at a humanitarian aid distribution center in Kursk, Russia, Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024
A Ukrainian military vehicle drives past a burning car on a road near the border with Russia, in the Sumy region of Ukraine, on August 14, 2024
In this photo taken from video released by the Russian Defense Ministry press service on Friday, Aug. 16, 2024, a Russian soldier fires a Rapira anti-tank gun, in the border area of Kursk region, Russia
Ukraine has explicitly warned Russians not to travel to Crimea, which Putin annexed from Kyiv in 2014.
In May 2023, amid rising tensions and increased military activity, Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said: ‘The best recommendation to the citizens of the Russian Federation is not to visit the occupied Crimea and the Black Sea coast.
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‘You are not welcome there. A big war is going on.’
Zelensky himself spelt out the risks to people in Crimea, which officials in Kyiv say they want to reclaim following the 2014 annexation.
‘I urge everyone in Crimea and other occupied territories to stay as far away as possible from military facilities and infrastructure used by the Russian army,’ he said.
‘ Do not stay near Russian military facilities and facilities supporting their actions. If you are in Crimea, stay away from the military bases and airfields.’