More than 30 people have been killed in Russia's Kursk region following Ukraine's cross-border incursion that began over two weeks ago, according to reports from the Russian state-run TASS news agency, which cited unnamed medical personnel.
The report stated that, as of the morning of August 21, 31 people had died and 143 had sustained injuries, with 79 of those injured requiring hospitalization, including four children.
Last week, Acting Kursk Governor Alexei Smirnov confirmed 12 deaths and 121 injuries, while just a day earlier, the death toll stood at 17 according to TASS.
According to the Moscow Times, the escalating violence has also led to the evacuation of around 121,000 people from conflict-hit areas in the Kursk region.
Ukrainian authorities have indicated that they will allow civilians to evacuate through humanitarian corridors leading to both Russia and Ukraine.
In a separate development, Apti Alaudinov, commander of the Akhmat special forces, claimed to have seen numerous photos of civilians who had been killed, suggesting that many elderly people, women, and children had not yet been evacuated.
This has raised concerns about the potential for a much higher civilian death toll as the situation unfolds.
The Ukrainian military incursion, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky, aims to establish a "buffer zone" in the Kursk region and weaken Russia’s military capabilities.
