Russian officials meet relatives of missing border residents amid criticism

An official missing persons list compiled by Russian authorities initially listed only around 500 people unaccounted for in the Ukrainian-occupied zone
Local residents and Ukraine’s army say the number is close to 3,000

MOSCOW: Russian officials met this week with relatives of people trapped by Ukraine’s cross-border offensive into the Kursk region, amid criticism of efforts to secure the return of people from Ukrainian-held territory.
Dozens of villages and the regional hub of Sudzha have been under Ukrainian control since the surprise ground assault on August 6, 2024.
Hundreds of Russians were caught on the opposite side of the front line and cut off from relatives, with discontent growing at the lack of information from regional officials.
An official missing persons list compiled by Russian authorities initially listed only around 500 people unaccounted for in the Ukrainian-occupied zone, but local residents and Ukraine’s army say the number is close to 3,000.
The meeting held late Tuesday was aimed at forming “a single open list of missing persons,” said regional governor Alexander Khinshtein.
The new list will “reassure relatives of the missing, who will see that their loved ones are not forgotten or abandoned,” he wrote on Telegram, adding he hoped most of the work would be done within 10 days.
Volunteers, aid workers and Russia’s human rights ombudsman Tatyana Moskalkova also attended the meeting, he said.
Local resident Lyubov Prilutskaya called the meeting a positive step.
“Most likely, our figure is correct — about 3,000 people. Now the lists will be compiled in one place, they will be checked, reviewed, verified, and there will be at least some understanding of the situation,” she told AFP.
The 37-year-old has for months been trying to locate her mother and father in the occupied zone, saying earlier this month that a list compiled by authorities contained people known to be dead.
Residents have accused authorities of not doing enough to help their loved ones, and of keeping them in the dark about the scale of fighting.
Over the past two weeks, dozens of them have made social media appeals for help finding relatives in a coordinated campaign.
Ukraine says thousands of its civilians are held in areas seized and occupied by Moscow since its assault began in February 2022, and that it is providing safe passage to Russians in the Kursk region.