Desperate Search for Loved Ones: Families in Kursk Left Stranded Amid Continuing Conflict

Irina last communicated with her parents, who reside in the Kursk region of Russia, six months ago, prior to the Ukrainian forces advancing across the border and capturing significant territory.

Since that time, she has received no updates regarding the well-being of the elderly couple, both in their 70s.

“I spoke to my parents shortly before the invasion. They mentioned heavy shelling but were optimistic that the situation would stabilize,” said Irina, whose name has been altered for her safety.

“When I tried to gauge the situation to see if I could reach them, it became evident that while leaving the [occupied] area was still feasible, getting to them was no longer an option,” she recounted during a phone interview with The Moscow Times.

Unable to assist her parents in their evacuation, Irina noted that volunteers and soldiers were also unable to reach them because their village is among the nearest to Ukraine.

After fruitlessly searching for them in the regional capital of Kursk, hoping they had escaped the conflict, Irina is now relentlessly filing official inquiries with Russian authorities, but to no avail.

Like Irina, numerous residents of Kursk are searching for their relatives who remain in territories captured by Ukrainian forces.

What is the situation in occupied Kursk?

Many Kursk communities near the border have been under Ukrainian control for several months.

The areas of Kursk occupied by Kyiv are anticipated to play a significant role in future peace negotiations between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump.

During the early days of the August incursion, Ukrainian forces advanced as far as 35 kilometers into the Kursk region. By February 5, Russian forces had reportedly reclaimed about 57% of this territory—approximately 655 square kilometers, according to the U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War. A senior Russian army official stated on Thursday that Russia had regained 64% of the occupied Kursk region.

Kursk residents who could not evacuate during the early August assault—mainly from villages surrounding Sudzha, located less than 10 kilometers from the Russian-Ukrainian border—remain in areas held by Ukrainian forces.

The Moscow Times has not been able to independently verify the current living conditions for Russian civilians in territories controlled by Ukraine.

Locals featured in footage released by Kyiv claimed that Ukrainian troops treated them well, providing food and essential medical supplies. A video from Ukrainian TRO Media, which films in Kursk, also shows Ukrainian forces distributing bread, tea, and matches to civilians.

Most individuals in these videos are elderly. Some have reported that their homes were destroyed, forcing them to seek shelter with relatives, friends, or at a boarding school in Sudzha, where dozens of civilians are taking refuge. This school was struck this month, with both Russia and Kyiv blaming each other for the attack.

While the majority of those filmed send messages to loved ones, assuring them of their safety and searching for family members, some express political grievances.

“The Russians left me homeless; they burned down my house… Russians are killing Russians… The Ukrainian soldiers are treating us very well,” said a man identifying himself as Anatoly Golovnev from Sudzha to a Ukrainian film crew.

All individuals shown in these videos fall under the category of civilians living in occupied territories, who, along with prisoners of war, are afforded protection from “public curiosity” under international humanitarian laws.

Russia portrays a contrasting narrative regarding life under Ukrainian authority.

In a video released by the state-run RIA Novosti news agency, two women recently evacuated by Russian forces from the village of Nikolaev-Daryino stated that they “survived as best as they could.”

“We were without communication, water, electricity, and heat,” they explained, claiming that Ukraine had also intentionally destroyed their stored food supplies.

Relatives of those stranded in Ukrainian-controlled regions mentioned that the only way to contact them was through Ukrainian soldiers, making it impossible to obtain an unbiased account of the situation from either side.

This month, Ukraine initiated a new series of offensives in Kursk, defending this incursion as a «very important operation» in potential discussions with Moscow. Russia’s Defense Ministry has repeatedly affirmed that its forces “continue to dismantle Ukrainian forces” in the region.

Discrepancies in missing persons counts in Kursk

There is no independently verified count of how many Kursk residents remain trapped in territory controlled by Ukraine.

In early January, the Russian human rights commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova released a roster of 517 individuals from Kursk who had gone missing following Ukraine’s offensive.

Residents of Kursk criticized this list, which contained names of people who reported the missing, incomplete entries like “Grandmother of Litvinova E.G.,” and at least one woman listed who had been killed during the incursion.

“We have no idea how this list was put together or why it was released. However, we are not particularly concerned about the list itself — we understand that a thorough and accurate list is essential to organize a humanitarian mission or establish an evacuation corridor,” Irina told The Moscow Times.

In a bid to reassure the public, acting Kursk region Governor Alexander Khinshtein stated last month that the list «was not exhaustive.» Regional police received reports of at least 1,174 missing individuals, of whom 240 had been located, he noted.

Kursk authorities have also initiated a registry for individuals from border areas who have lost touch with their relatives, but the complete list of missing persons and the number of those found have not been disclosed.

A spokesperson for Ukraine’s military operating in Kursk informed AFP this month that over 1,500 Russians are still living in areas controlled by Ukraine.

Simultaneously, families of the missing estimate that as many as 3,000 individuals could be trapped in occupied regions.

They also reported having no verified information on how many might have perished — not just from shelling but also from other causes.

“There is no medical assistance, no supplies of medicine, no adequate nutrition. Many people are hiding in cellars — just imagine the risk of pneumonia, colds, and other [illnesses],” Irina explained to The Moscow Times.

Families of missing individuals demand action

One of the primary demands from relatives is for the establishment of a humanitarian corridor to allow civilians to evacuate from Ukrainian-controlled areas. Yet, this corridor has yet to come to fruition, despite both Moscow and Kyiv expressing willingness to facilitate it.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated to AFP on Tuesday that Kyiv was “ready to open a humanitarian corridor from the Kursk region into the depths of Russia in response to an official request” from Moscow.

Russian human rights commissioner Moskalkova mentioned that the evacuation issue could be “resolved positively,” adding that Moscow “was collaborating closely with Ukraine.”

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that Russian authorities were doing “everything possible for Kursk residents,” but noted that «discussions surrounding [the humanitarian corridor] rely on communications being established through military channels, which inherently cannot occur in a public forum.»

At least 46 civilians managed to return to Russia in November. Around 100 civilians were reportedly evacuated to the Ukrainian city of Sumy, relatives informed the independent news outlet Agentstvo this week.

Meanwhile, families of those trapped in occupied areas have initiated a social media campaign calling for assistance in rescuing their loved ones under the hashtag #YaMySudzha (I Am/We Are Sudzha).

Irina expressed that Kursk feels neglected by both the Russian authorities and fellow citizens — a rare display of frustration toward the government at a time when dissent is severely repressed.

“People are openly discussing how we’ve been forsaken,” she said. “And they’re voicing it openly.”