Ukraine Denies Targeting Civilians In Attacks In Russian Kursk Region

JAKARTA - Ukraine is complying with international humanitarian law and is not targeting civilians in its current attack on Russia's Kursk region, a spokesman for the country's foreign ministry said on Monday.

The spokesman said Russia had a long track record of claims and propaganda, responding to allegations of casualties and injuries from civilians.

"Given Russia's long history of false figures and propaganda, there is no way to verify their claims. If Russia wants to show the real situation on the ground, they can give UN and ICRC access," Heorhiy Tykhyi's spokesman told Reuters, using an abbreviation from the United Nations and the International Red Cross Committee.

Earlier, Russia's Foreign Ministry on Monday said at least 56 civilians were killed and 266 injured as a result of a seven-week Ukrainian attack on the Kursk region of western Russia.

Kyiv began a cross-border attack on August 6, more than two years after Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops to Ukraine, and Ukrainian troops are still in the Kursk region.

The Russian Foreign Ministry previously stated that the death toll reached 31 people in the period until September 5. The number of new victims covers the period until September 20.

Furthermore, it said 131,000 civilians had fled the region's most dangerous territory, accusing Ukrainian forces of detaining some civilians beyond their wishes, including 70-120 people in Sudzha City.

Heorhiy Tykhyi said Ukraine was complying with international humanitarian law and was not targeting civilians, and they were unable to verify the statement.

Kyiv himself said the attacks carried out in Kursk, the largest cross-border attack on Russia after World War II, were intended as part of efforts to prevent Russian troops in the region from launching attacks across the border into Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier this month his troops controlled 100 settlements in the Kursk area over an area of more than 1,300 square km (500 square miles). Russian sources denied this figure, saying Russia had reclaimed several villages in the counter-attack.