[ad_1]
Dozens of apparently disoriented people stepped off in Moscow from the first train carrying evacuees to the Russian capital from the Kursk region, the site of a massive incursion by Ukrainian troops that has been ongoing for four days, the AFP agency said in a report in the Russian capital.
There were many families with children and elderly people among those arriving at the station, paradoxically named Kiev, the Ukrainian capital. It seemed that many of them were visiting Moscow for the first time.
“It’s terrible, they’re bombing,” an elderly man with a small travel bag said of the situation, but did not give his name. Another, who also did not want to introduce himself, said he was from Kurchatov, about 50 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. He said the town of about 40,000 residents had not seen fighting yet, but “the air defense system there is working hard” to repel Ukrainian bombing.
“The war came and it was terrible, so all our relatives went to Moscow,” a woman who came with her 10-year-old daughter to greet relatives told reporters.
The train that arrived at Moscow’s Kiev station was one of several ordered by authorities to evacuate residents of the Kursk region, where Ukrainian troops invaded on Tuesday, advancing dozens of kilometers at a time. Four days later, fighting in the region continues as Russian forces struggle to repel the unprecedented, massive assault.
According to Russian authorities, Ukrainian shelling killed five people and injured 66 in the border region. The governor of Kursk region announced that nearly 3,000 people were evacuated.
At Kiev station, evacuees asked passersby where the exits were. A woman in her 50s who had arrived by train with her teenage son sat on a bench on the platform, sadly stroking her cat, Murko.
Muscovites who spoke to AFP said they were ready to help their displaced compatriots financially.
“One way or another, I think this has to end. There shouldn’t be a war,” said Larissa, a 59-year-old food truck manager.
READ ALSO Kiev is serious about invasion: one of the most dangerous brigades has entered Russia
Lyubov, 40, believes that “the president is doing everything he can,” at least in terms of helping his compatriots who suffered during the war.
Vladimir Putin looked frustrated as he listened to the generals’ report on television.
Lyudmila, 68, wants the head of state to take “more decisive military measures” to repel the invasion. She is from the city of Orel, about 140 kilometers north of Kursk. “I’m afraid we are next. Now it’s Kursk. After Kursk it’s Orel,” she blurted out.
Photo: SITA/AP
Kursk region, Ukrainian war, Russians Authorities in Russia’s Kursk region released this photo on August 9, 2024, showing residents being evacuated.
The Russian border region, especially Belgorod, has been the target of Ukrainian ground attacks and drone strikes and artillery bombardments before, but the operation that began on Tuesday was unusual in both its intensity and duration.
The Russian military confirmed that Ukrainian troops had reached the town of Sudja, which has a population of about 5,500 and is about 10 kilometers from the border. The Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations assured that it would provide additional funds to help residents of the Kursk region evacuate to safety. In turn, the army reported sending reinforcements to repel Ukrainian troops.
[ad_2]
Source link
