Russian human rights ombudswoman Tatyana Moskalkova has called this week’s cross-border incursion by Ukrainian forces in Kursk Region “barbaric,” urging the United Nations to condemn Kiev’s actions against the local civilian population.
In a post on her Telegram account on Sunday, Moskalkova said she has sent an official appeal to the UN high commissioner for human rights, Volker Turk, demanding that he “condemn the terrorism on the part of Ukraine and take measures to prevent the gross mass violations of human rights” in the Russian border region.
“As a result of the barbaric attack on Kursk Region by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, thousands of civilians have suffered… I hope that this information will be reflected in the OHCHR report on human rights violations, which, as we have learned, is being prepared for release in September,” she stated.
Clashes in the border areas of Kursk Region have been ongoing since August 6, when Kiev’s troops launched a major cross-border incursion. The Russian Emergencies Ministry declared a federal emergency in the region, and the National Antiterrorism Committee (NAC) launched counterterrorism measures.
The attack has already led to at least four civilian casualties, and 15 more people were injured in overnight shelling of the regional center, Kursk, which damaged an apartment building. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, a total of 14 Ukrainian UAVs and four tactical missiles were destroyed by air defense systems over Kursk Region overnight.
The Emergencies Ministry (EMERCOM) said on Saturday that over 76,000 people have been moved from the region’s border areas to safer grounds over the past few days. According to acting Governor Aleksey Smirnov, the Ukrainian army has been attempting to impede civilian evacuation efforts, “firing at civilians and ambulances.”
The Kremlin called Kiev’s move a large-scale provocation and accused Ukrainian troops of indiscriminate attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure in the region. The Russian military said earlier in the week that it was able to halt the advance of Kiev’s forces, and has been pushing back the remaining Ukrainian troops towards the border.