Russians on the run

Kiev wants to comply with humanitarian law during invasion

Ukraine has conquered parts of Russia.

(Bild: AFP/Handout)

According to President Volodymyr Zelenskyi, the Ukrainian armed forces are making "good progress" in their advance into the Kursk region in western Russia. The protection of civilians is a priority. The aim is to provide a contrast to the Russian advance.

The Ukrainian army is achieving its goals, Zelensky said in his evening video address - and it has been instructed to respect humanitarian law in its actions. "It is important that Ukraine fights according to the rules, and the humanitarian needs in this area must be respected."

Massacre in Kiev suburb
The emphasis on respecting humanitarian law goes back to atrocities committed by Russian troops during their advance on the Ukrainian capital Kiev almost two and a half years ago. At that time, numerous civilians were killed indiscriminately in the suburb of Butsha before the Russian military was forced to retreat from the area.

Selensky's speech in full:

At a meeting of Zelenskyj's government, it was decided to allow international organizations access to the occupied territories in western Russia, according to the Ukrainian agency Unian. These include the International Committee of the Red Cross, the United Nations and other organizations that provide humanitarian aid.

"No butzha on Russian territory"
In an interview with the Russian opposition media outlet "Meduza", Ukrainian presidential advisor Mychajlo Podoljak described the procedure for the operation in the Kursk region. Among other things, the Ukrainian armed forces were instructed to attack and destroy only military targets. In contrast to the Russian invaders, Ukraine will not deploy any proxies in occupied areas.

The only contact with the Russian civilian population is support with humanitarian aid. Podoljak also emphasized that there would be "no Butscha on Russian territory".

Russian soil as a political mouthpiece
The Ukrainian armed forces must fortify their positions in order to ensure operational success, Podoljak continued. This would allow Ukraine to "enlarge the theater of military operations on Russian territory" and then also enable political messages. He specifically mentioned "the failure of the Russian administration as a whole, the unwillingness to make decisions, the unwillingness to bring additional forces and resources there". Accordingly, the war will spread to the entire Russian territory, Podoljak said.

The Ukrainian commander-in-chief Olexander Syrskyj had reported to Selenskyj on the situation in Kursk and on other sections of the front in Ukraine. The Ukrainian defenders were particularly hard pressed in the east around the Donbass, as the Russian army had increased the pressure there.

Syrskyj and Selenskyj agreed that the Ukrainian troops fighting there should receive additional weapons systems from the next military aid packages from Western partners. Whether reinforcements would also be ordered to the region was not mentioned - probably for tactical reasons.

Unclear number of troops in Russia
According to Russian estimates, the Ukrainian armed forces in the Kursk region are just under 12,000 strong. Among them are also foreign mercenaries, said General Apty Alaudinov from Chechnya, commander of the Chechen forces fighting in Ukraine and an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. However, there are widely differing estimates of the actual number of troops.

200,000 Russians are on the run.

(Bild: AP)

"You could hear Polish, English and French voices everywhere," Alaudinov claimed in a television interview, quoted by the state agency Tass. According to him, most of the mercenaries had already been "eliminated". Neither his statements nor those of the Ukrainian side could be independently verified.

Zelenskyi wants Western missiles
Following a series of Ukrainian drone attacks against Russian military airfields on Wednesday night, Zelensky once again appealed to Western partners. "Our Ukrainian drones work exactly as they should, but there are things that unfortunately cannot be done with drones alone," he said. "We need another weapon - missile weapons."

Ukraine is asking its Western partners almost daily for permission to use heavy long-range weapons against military and logistical targets on Russian territory. However, the governments of the UK and the USA have so far refused to agree to this.