Moscow, Aug. 22, (dpa/GNA) – Approximately 133,000 people have left their homes so far due to the Ukrainian offensive in the Russian region of Kursk, the acting governor of the region, Alexei Smirnov, said during a videoconference with President Vladimir Putin on Thursday.
Nearly 20,000 people still remain in the eight districts for which evacuation had been ordered, the state news agency TASS reported, citing Smirnov.
Putin and the Russian government were on Thursday once again dealing with the consequences of the Ukrainian advance, which began just over two weeks ago.
For the first time in almost two and a half years of the full-scale Russian war, Ukraine is conducting ground battles on enemy territory and, according to its own assertions, controls more than 1,000 square kilometres of land.
“I urge you to pay particular attention to preparations for the new school year,” Putin ordered. Education Minister Sergei Kravtsov said that pupils from 114 schools in the border area should be taught online from September 2. Others would be educated at their evacuation locations or in children’s holiday camps.