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- Kurskaya — for safety: how does the border region live after liberation from the militants of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
Kurskaya — for safety: how does the border region live after liberation from the militants of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
The capture of Yunakovka, the closure of Sudzha, swarms of enemy drones on regional highways, the hunt for civilian vehicles, raids on the regional center — the situation in the Kursk region remains tense. Thousands of refugees continue to live in temporary accommodation, and air raid sirens periodically wail over the cities. A special correspondent of Izvestia visited the Kursk region and saw what has changed here in the seven months since the expulsion of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Fortress village
Military news No. 1 is the capture of Ukrainian Yunakovka, which is 6 km from the border with Russia and 30 km from Sumy. Our troops began to approach the village in the spring, and it took several months to approach and storm it. Yunakovka played a strategic role for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, it was repeatedly noted in the General Staff of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. Through it, the Ukrainian group was supplied for an attack on the Kursk region (including equipment — tanks, armored vehicles, artillery), and then for defense. In fact, it was an important transport hub. The village itself was turned into a fortress.
Yunakovka was taken by the paratroopers of the North group with the support of other units and aviation. The stormtroopers have not yet been able to leave their positions for rotation, as fighting continues in the surrounding forest belts. The next major settlement standing in the way of our troops is Sumy itself. However, as the warring commanders note, it is too early to talk about the imminent capture of the regional center: a large group of the Armed Forces of Ukraine opposes our army in this area, it is fiercely resisting.
The task of the Russian troops in the Sumy region remains the same — the creation of a buffer zone near the border to prevent the possibility of shelling the Kursk region from barrel and rocket artillery. The assault work is carried out in small groups — from two to five people, so as not to create crowds of people. Movement in the battlefields is carried out mainly on buggies and motorcycles.
"Wings", kamikaze, "uterus"
The dominance of wing drones (aircraft—type drones) and kamikaze fpvs remains a scourge for the Kursk region. The number of them, according to fighters and civilians, has increased almost significantly over the past six months: some internal routes have become a solid "red zone". The entire border area is suffering — Sudzhansky, Korenevsky, Bolshesoldatsky, Belovsky, Glushkovsky districts. It doesn't take two or three days for an FPV to hit an apartment building or a car with peaceful people. Entry to Suja and surrounding villages is prohibited for security reasons. However, the enemy is attacking Kursk, Kurchatov, and Rylsk: air defense systems shoot down drones every day.
Attention – air
The reasons for such an acute situation, the military explains, are that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have increased the number of UAV calculations in the Sumy region, relying on them: in some areas, the air is literally buzzing with propellers. Technical aspects also play a role. For example, the length of the fiber optic coil has increased, and with it the depth of penetration of copters into our territory. The Wings carry repeaters capable of extending the same length of the transmitted signal. Some drones, the so—called wombs, carry several small kamikazes on board, which, having found a target, attack it.
Rescued from captivity
Recently, prisoners of war were exchanged with Kiev. 20 civilians have returned to Russia, 10 of them from the Sudzhansky district, mostly elderly people. In February 2025, they were sent to Sumy. All those released underwent an immediate medical examination, and one person needed hospitalization. Six more Sudzhans remain in captivity.
Suja today
It should be noted that thousands of people remain without permanent housing in the Kursk region. According to Izvestia, the Kursk Regional Security Committee, 53 temporary accommodation facilities are currently operating in the region, housing more than 4.5 thousand people (38 more are in reserve), including 977 citizens from LDPR, Kherson region and Zaporizhia, evacuated in 2022.
Border village
The counter-terrorism operation regime remains in place in the region. Since this February, internally displaced persons have the right to receive a monthly payment of 65 thousand rubles, the measure remains in place until the cancellation of the CTO. In case of partial loss of essential property (table, chairs, refrigerator, tile, TV, etc.) 78.3 thousand rubles are compensated, in case of full loss — 156.7 thousand rubles. Those who have suffered minor harm to their health as a result of an emergency are entitled to 313 thousand rubles, medium or serious harm — 627 thousand. In case of death or death of a person, 1.5 million rubles are allocated to the family. Measures are provided to cover the cost of rental housing — from 20 thousand to 40 thousand rubles per month.
The document for the new house
The issue of obtaining certificates for new housing remains the most urgent for displaced persons. Many complain that they cannot receive the coveted document, they are forced to huddle in removable corners or in a temporary shelter for the second year.
The Ministry of Construction of the Kursk Region commented to Izvestia that a total of 11,997 certificates have been issued to date for a total amount of 74.24 billion rubles. Of these, 6.2 thousand this year, 5.3 thousand last year, and 447 in 2023 (before the full—scale invasion, the Ukrainian Armed Forces had already shelled border villages).
First of all, certificates are issued to preferential categories, which, in particular, include families with children under 18 years of age, or in which there are members of their own. According to surveys conducted by Izvestia, the average amount that a victim of a fire can expect is 6 million rubles, depending on the area of the lost property. It is possible to buy a house both in the Kursk region and in other regions of Russia.
Go back
Those who constantly travel dangerous roads are Kursk volunteers and volunteers. One of them is Priest Alexander Zinchenko, assistant to the head of the Federal Penitentiary Service of the region for organizing work with prisoners. For the last six months, he has been traveling with Theroboron members in the liberated parishes, assessing their condition and taking out the surviving shrines. Some of the temples, according to him, were razed to the ground — in the same Small Chapel, the Cellars. Some were seriously damaged — in Cherkassy Porechnoye, in Sudzha.
Priest Alexander Zinchenko
In the village of Ozerki, Belovsky district, the priest managed to take out an icon of the Archangel Michael, in Zaoleshinki — Elijah the Prophet, in the village of Ulanok — two icons of the Mother of God, on the back of which it was written — "The first time saved in the Civil War, the second — in the Great Patriotic War." The icon of Our Lady of Myrrh flows in the Church of St. John the Baptist in Sudzhanskaya Makhnovka…
The tragedy of the Gornal Monastery, an important shrine of the Orthodox world, which is more than 300 years old, remains a special pain for the Kuryans.
Lighted candles in the Sudjan church
The miraculous icon of Pryazhevskaya, which helps in healing, was kept in the monastery for many years. As its rector, Father Pitirim, who was forced to move to Kursk, told Izvestia, the icon was removed from the monastery at the very beginning of his life due to its proximity to the border and shelling. Now, with the blessing of His Eminence, she is being exhibited in various cities of the Kursk region for worship.
According to him, there is no way to get to the monastery itself yet. And it is impossible to even understand the level of destruction, it is located in a war zone. One can only believe that one day they will be able to return back.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
