Ukraine has decided to create a “security zone” in the territory of the Kursk region occupied by the Ukrainian Armed Forces

The Ukrainian authorities are going to create a "security zone" in the territory of the Kursk region under the control of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), said the country's Minister for Reintegration Iryna Vereshchuk. "In order to protect the border regions of Ukraine (primarily the border area of ​​Sumy region), the Defense Forces of Ukraine are creating a security zone on the territory of the Russian Federation adjacent to the territory of Ukraine," Vereshchuk wrote on her Telegram channel.

According to her, Russians who find themselves within the "security zone" will be protected by international humanitarian law. In this regard, the Ukrainian Armed Forces will organize support for civilians, open humanitarian corridors for their evacuation both towards Russia and towards Ukraine, and also allow international organizations into the said zone to monitor the situation.

The day before, on August 14, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced his intention to create military commandant's offices in the Kursk region. "Ukraine is defending itself and the lives of its people in border communities and is taking active actions on Russian territory," he noted.

Before that, Russian President Vladimir Putin demanded the creation of a sanitary zone in the border regions of Ukraine to stop shelling the Belgorod region. After that, the Russian army launched an offensive in the Kharkov region, which got bogged down a month later.