At least 17 people have died in southwestern Russia’s Kursk region in the two weeks since Ukrainian forces stormed across the border, the state-run news agency TASS reported Tuesday, citing unnamed medical personnel.
“The latest figures show that 17 people died as a result of attacks by the armed forces of Ukraine,” TASS quoted its source as saying. “More than 140 were injured, [and] 75 hospitalized, including four children.”
Authorities have not confirmed the updated death toll. Acting Kursk region Governor Alexei Smirnov said last week that 12 people had been killed and 121 others had been injured since Kyiv launched its incursion into Russia.
Around 121,000 people have been evacuated from areas of the region impacted by fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces. Ukrainian authorities said they will allow civilians in the Kursk region to evacuate through humanitarian corridors connecting to parts of Russia and Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said over the weekend that the goal of the offensive is to create a “buffer zone” in the Kursk region and wear down Russia’s military.
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