
Fear of more war haunts Kursk as Russia expels Ukrainian troops
RYLSK, Russia, March 26 (Reuters) - In the Russian region of Kursk, where Ukraine has been fighting for more than seven months, people say they want peace but fear there will be more war.
Ukraine's incursion into Russian territory was launched in August - more than two years into a major war triggered by Moscow's invasion of its neighbour - shocking a border region that hadn't seen conflict since World War Two.
Now, with Russia close to expelling the last Ukrainian troops, Kursk's populace is counting the cost.
For some residents like Leonid Boyarintsev, a veteran of the Sino-Soviet border conflict of 1969, the surprise enemy offensive served as justification for Russia to double down on its military activities in Ukraine.
"When we are victorious there will be peace because no one will dare to come crawling in again," the 83-year-old told Reuters in the town of Rylsk, adding that he blamed the West for stoking the conflict in Ukraine. "They will be too afraid to."
The damage that has been unleashed on towns and cities in the Russian region has brought home the horrors of war long suffered by Ukrainians.
In ancient Rylsk, 26 km (16 miles) from the border, the scars are everywhere - from the smashed merchant buildings from Tsarist Russia to the families still struggling with children living apart in evacuation.
"We want peace but it is very important that the peace is long term and durable," town Mayor Sergei Kurnosov told Reuters in the ruins of a cultural centre that was destroyed in a Dec. 20 Ukrainian attack.
Six people were killed and 12 injured in the attack, Russia said. Russia said the cultural centre was destroyed by U.S.-made HIMARS missiles. Abandoned music books lay beside silent pianos and a theatre stage showing a shattered scene of rubble and glass.
Reuters is among the first international news outlets to gain access to the Kursk region since Russia began a lightning offensive to expel Ukrainian troops this month. While Russian officials did not check reporting material, the Reuters team was informed in advance that it could not report about the Russian military in the region or gather visuals of Russian forces.
Just like Ukrainians, many Kursk residents crave a return to normality
Here too, air-raid sirens have become the daily soundtrack of life. While Russia has now pushed out almost all Ukrainian forces from Kursk, the area has been heavily mined and drones continue to attack. Many civilian cars speeding along a road near the vast Kurchatov nuclear power plant had drone jamming devices strapped onto their roofs. Residents shopped for food and vapes as artillery boomed in the distance.
"It's all very scary indeed," said Rimma Erofeyeva, a music teacher in Rylsk who said people in the town wanted the fighting to stop though believed that God was protecting them. "The really scary thing is that people have got so used to this that they don't even react to the sirens any more."
SWARMS OF DRONES
Ukrainian forces smashed into the Kursk region on August 6, supported by swarms of drones and heavy Western weaponry, and swiftly seize almost 1,400 sq km of territory, according to Russian generals. But within weeks the area under Ukraine's control shrank as Russia piled in forces.
The latest battlefield map from Deep State, an authoritative Ukrainian site that charts the frontlines from open-source data, showed Ukraine controlled less than 81 sq km as of March 23.
By contrast, Russia controls about 113,000 sq km, or about 20%, of Ukraine.
The strategic fortunes of the Kursk incursion are disputed.
Ukraine said the incursion was aimed at bringing the war to Russia, diverting Russian troops from advances in eastern Ukraine, embarrassing President Vladimir Putin and gaining a bargaining chip in potential future talks on ending the war. The operation "achieved most of its goals", the armed forces' General Staff told Reuters this week.
The chief of Russia's General Staff Valery Gerasimov told Putin, in a televised exchange during a trip by the president to a command post in the Kursk region on March 12, that Ukraine had lost tens of thousands of its best troops in a failed bid to distract Russian forces from the Donbas, in eastern Ukraine.
"The Kyiv regime aimed to create a so-called strategic foothold in the Kursk region for later use as a bargaining chip in possible negotiations with Russia," Gerasimov said. "These plans of the enemy have completely failed."
Russia's defence ministry says Ukraine has lost 69,700 troops dead or injured in Kursk, along with 5,700 tanks, armoured cars and many Western-supplied vehicles. Russia has not given its own casualty figures. Ukraine has given no casualty figures but dismisses Russian estimates as fake.
New U.S. President Donald Trump has vowed to end the three-year war in Ukraine, yet many people in the Kursk region are sceptical of any lasting peace because of deep-seated geopolitical tensions and distrust between Russia and the West.
"I don't think that there will be peace in our region in the near future," said a resident of the city of Kursk who gave her name only as Yekaterina, citing resentment towards Russia from Ukraine and the West. "There will be some hostility towards our people, towards our land for a very long time."
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Scottish Sun
8 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Prince William gives emotional plea to world leaders urging them to act to save the planet
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) THE Prince of Wales said watching humans destroy our oceans was 'simply heartbreaking' as he urged world leaders to act by thinking big yesterday. William's call came in a speech to the Blue Economy and Finance Forum on ocean preservation at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco after meeting France's President Emmanuel Macron. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 2 Prince William said watching humans destroy our oceans was 'simply heartbreaking' as he urged world leaders to act 2 Prince William meets France's President Emmanuel Macron Credit: Reuters The prince, whose opening and closing remarks were in French, said those attending were 'united by our deep connection to the ocean and our concern for its safety'. William, in navy suit with a recycled sustainable tie from Wilmok, said the clock was ticking on meeting the target agreed at the 2022 UN Biodiversity Summit aiming to protect at least 30 per cent of the world's land and sea by 2030. Speaking at the heads of state and government session on the forum's final day, the prince added: 'Watching human activity reduce beautiful sea forests to barren deserts at the base of our oceans is simply heartbreaking. 'For the future of our planet, for the future generations, we must listen to the words of Sir David Attenborough: 'If we save the sea, we save our world'. 'I call on all of you to think big in your actions.' World leaders were greeted by a blue carpet as they arrived at the event, with William chatting with Mr Macron and other dignitaries. Addressing an audience of 1,800, William said: 'Rising sea temperatures, plastic pollution and overfishing are putting pressure on fragile ecosystems. 'What once seemed an abundant resource is diminishing before our eyes. "We all stand to be impacted. And we are all responsible for change — both negative and positive. "But there remains time to turn this tide.' Wills jokes 'families can be a mixed bag - some of them might not want to see you much' Later, William said he went through a range of emotions when he saw Sir David's new Ocean film. He told Enric Sala, who worked on the film: 'I got angry, then sad, then I got frustrated, then I got happy.' Unlock even more award-winning articles as The Sun launches brand new membership programme - Sun Club.

Leader Live
16 hours ago
- Leader Live
Oleksandr Usyk sends Donald Trump ‘live in my house for one week' message
Trump vowed to resolve the conflict 'in 24 hours' upon taking office but more than three years on from Russia president Vladimir Putin launching a full scale invasion of Ukraine, no end appears in sight. Usyk, the former undisputed world champion at cruiserweight and heavyweight, painted a bleak picture of what life is like in Ukraine and believes Trump needs to have a clearer comprehension of the situation. 'I advise American president Donald Trump to go to Ukraine and live in my house for one week, only one week,' Usyk, the WBC, WBA and WBO heavyweight champion, told the BBC. 'Watch what is going on. Every night there are bombs, rockets flying above my house. 'People who don't live in Ukraine, who don't support Ukraine, who haven't watched what's going on, don't understand what's going on.' Usyk, who has won all 23 of his professional contests, is currently in a training camp to prepare for a rematch with IBF champion Daniel Dubois on July 19 at Wembley Stadium. 'I worry about what happens in my country,' 38-year-old Usyk added. 'It's very bad because Ukrainian people have died. It's not just military people – children, women, grandmothers and grandfathers, too.'

South Wales Argus
16 hours ago
- South Wales Argus
Oleksandr Usyk sends Donald Trump ‘live in my house for one week' message
Trump vowed to resolve the conflict 'in 24 hours' upon taking office but more than three years on from Russia president Vladimir Putin launching a full scale invasion of Ukraine, no end appears in sight. Usyk, the former undisputed world champion at cruiserweight and heavyweight, painted a bleak picture of what life is like in Ukraine and believes Trump needs to have a clearer comprehension of the situation. 'I advise American president Donald Trump to go to Ukraine and live in my house for one week, only one week,' Usyk, the WBC, WBA and WBO heavyweight champion, told the BBC. Oleksandr Usyk is the WBC, WBA and WBO heavyweight champion (Nick Potts/PA) 'Watch what is going on. Every night there are bombs, rockets flying above my house. 'People who don't live in Ukraine, who don't support Ukraine, who haven't watched what's going on, don't understand what's going on.' Usyk, who has won all 23 of his professional contests, is currently in a training camp to prepare for a rematch with IBF champion Daniel Dubois on July 19 at Wembley Stadium. 'I worry about what happens in my country,' 38-year-old Usyk added. 'It's very bad because Ukrainian people have died. It's not just military people – children, women, grandmothers and grandfathers, too.'