The Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security strives to briefly explain to the foreign audience current issues of particular interest to Ukraine.
EVENTS IN THE KURSK REGION
On August 12, during a headquarters meeting, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Oleksandr Syrskyi reported that the Ukrainian Armed Forces control about 1,000 square kilometers of Russian territory in Kursk Oblast and continue to conduct an offensive operation.
This is the first official statement by the Ukrainian authorities regarding the offensive in the Kursk Oblast of the Russian Federation.
During a week of fighting, Ukraine recaptured the same area that Russian troops occupied in 2024.
Ukraine strictly adheres to international humanitarian law. The President instructed the authorities to develop a humanitarian plan for the area of operations.
Russia brought war to Ukraine, and now war is returning to Russia.
Putin’s rule began symbolically with the Kursk submarine disaster. After 24 years, the Kursk Oblast becomes Putin’s war disaster.
Strategy for the release of prisoners of war
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has instructed the structures responsible for the exchange of prisoners of war to present a clear strategy for the release of Ukrainians from Russian captivity.
For Ukraine, the return of all people from Russian captivity is of fundamental importance. Kyiv has repeatedly taken the initiative to exchange everyone for everyone.
Russia does not comply with the norms of international law regarding the treatment of prisoners of war. In captivity, our soldiers are in danger for their lives and health.
Russian secret services are using the prisoner factor to stir up contradictions within Ukrainian society: they want to pit prisoners’ relatives against the authorities and also incite relatives of different categories of prisoners against each other.
The authorities responsible for the exchange must communicate as much as possible with the relatives of the prisoners of war and explain to them how the exchange lists are drawn up and other issues.
During the offensive in Kursk Oblast, the defense forces are actively replenishing the exchange fund. Russian border guards of the FSB, Kadyrov fighters and military personnel are surrendering en masse.
RUSSIAN PROVOCATIONS
The Security Service of Ukraine has recorded attempts by Russian intelligence services to exploit the situation in Kursk Oblast to make unfounded accusations against Ukrainian defenders that they have committed war crimes.
War crimes are the signature of the Russian occupiers. They left bloody traces in Bucha, Mariupol, Izium, Kherson, etc. The facts of Russian crimes are carefully documented and investigated.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine strictly follow the rules and customs of warfare. This applies in particular to the treatment of Russian prisoners of war and the civilian population.
Russian intelligence services may attempt to stage crimes against the civilian population in Kursk Oblast in order to further accuse the Ukrainian side of committing these crimes.
Such attempts will not affect the offensive actions of the Ukrainian armed forces or the position of Ukraine’s international partners.
The greatest threat to the Russian civilian population in the war zone is the Russian army, which has already begun indiscriminate bombing of settlements in the Kursk Oblast.
Center for Strategic Communication and Information Security
