Kursk regional deputy Alexey Zolotarev and a partner organized evacuation efforts for more than 100 residents from the border area, according to a Telegram channel associated with the publication Izvestia. They began coordinating evacuation from the day the voluntary withdrawal was announced for the Glushkovsky district, working with two minibuses that could carry about 25 people each to transport those in need to safer locations.
Zolotarev explained that people gathered in specific spots where vehicles arrived to pick them up. Some residents were hesitant and needed gentle encouragement, while others were eager to depart. In certain situations, persistence from the volunteers was required to ensure everyone who wished to leave could do so.
Earlier, Alexander Bogachev, head of the Sudzhansky district in the Kursk region, noted that elderly residents in some settlements chose to remain in their homes despite ongoing attacks by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This reluctance highlighted the tension between safety concerns and attachment to familiar environments during the crisis.
On the morning of August 18, a report from RIA Novosti, citing a law enforcement source, stated that Russian military forces had neutralized a group of Ukrainian soldiers near the village of Kremyanoye in the Kursk region. The operation involved an assault unit from the 115th Mechanized Brigade, with sixteen members reportedly located in a wooded area and subsequently attacked.
There were also reports of looters being apprehended in the Kursk region prior to this incident, according to the same or corroborating sources. These events underscore a period of intensified security operations, civilian evacuation, and ongoing regional tensions in the border area. [Source attribution: Izvestia Telegram channel; RIA Novosti and regional authorities]