Ukraine's Kursk offensive: How worried are local Russians?

For over a week, Ukrainian forces have advanced in Russia's southwestern border region, taking control of dozens of towns and villages. While the Ukrainian push is mainly into the Kursk region, people are now also being evacuated from the neighboring region of Belgorod.

DW spoke with residents of both Belgorod and Kursk about what's been happening — and the extent to which they trust Russian authorities to tell them the truth.

State TV reports 'temporary problems'

Last Friday, 10 air raid sirens shattered the silence in the town of Kursk, according to various residents. Margarita, who did not want to give her real name, told DW that life in Kursk remained "calm," and that people were going to work, shops and out for walks as usual.

"Sirens often wail, but we're used to it now," she said. "It's a regional alarm, not just for us," she said, adding that state television reports had only refered to "temporary problems."

However, Margarita has heard from relatives that the fighting has been more intense than reported on TV, and that people have fled from the parts of Kursk region on the border with Ukraine. However, she believes the current incursion will be "short-lived," and doesn't want to leave her home.

Antonina also lives in Kursk, but has a sister who lives in Sudzha, now occupied by Ukrainian troops. "When the shelling started, my sister Julia fled Sudzha in a mad rush," she said.

Julia and her family are now temporarily staying with relatives in Oryol, about 260 kilometers further north toward Moscow, said Antonina. However, her sister had to leave all her documents, including her bank cards, behind. "But she's most worried about the house and her animals," explained Antonina. "They had to abandon piglets, ducks and chickens."

Antonina said her sister was now looking for a shelter for her family. Due to supply bottlenecks, they have not yet been able to pick up food rations, and they're hoping to soon receive the 10,000 rubles (around €100, $110) promised by the state for everyone who has been forced out of their home — one of the most discussed topics on Russian social networks.

"My God, that's absurd!" wrote Anastasia. "Of course, nobody has pointed out that the money is barely enough to buy a tent." Other commenters have remarked that the sum is just enough to buy food and medicine for one or two days.

People in nearby Belgorod prepare for the worst

Nina, a young resident of the neighboring Belgorod region, told DW early this week that she was also increasingly hearing air raid sirens. She also preferred to remain anonymous. While she spoke with DW by phone from her room, a siren could be heard wailing in the background.

"We're used to it now, I've stopped going out into the hallway," she said, adding that her neighbors were relieved that the Ukrainian troops hadn't decided to come to their town.

Nina said there has been talk about a possible invasion of their region, with more and more Russian troops arriving in Belgorod since the start of the Ukrainian offensive. The governor of Belgorod has since declared a state of emergency for the region and evacuations have begun.

Nina said she has noticed that people in Belgorod have increasingly been criticizing Russian authorities, including the president. "My friends and relatives who support the war are already calling Putin a weak leader, because he's doing nothing," she said.

Many locals no longer trust authorities

Social networks are already seeing an increase in reports of missing people — people in Sudzha, out of contact for days. Some are looking for older relatives, others for acquaintances who had gone to the region to help evacuate family members. So far, some 40 people have been reported as missing.

"The Russian Federation has cut off the power supply to all these villages in order to stop the Ukrainian troops," wrote one user, named Pyotr, on one such site. "Added to that, both sides have been engaging in electronic warfare."

But Russian authorities have stressed that telecommunications and mobile internet are still working in eight districts in the Kursk region, and are now free of charge — calls can even be made without credit, according to the telecommunications ministry. However, posts on social networks suggest that only a few people still trust official information sources.

"There is no connection. Our relatives living in distant regions can't get in touch with us," wrote Juliana on the local page of a social network. According to Juliana, "people knew about the impending Ukrainian invasion ahead of time, but there were no warnings."

Another user named Svetlana asked: "Where was the secret service? They deceived the people!"

On the Russian social media network VKontakte, another user named Olga confirmed that the website of the Kursk regional authorities had called for the evacuation of the town of Lgov, where she had been vacationing with her mother nearby.

"We called the emergency services. They said everything was calm, and that there was nothing to worry about," wrote Olga. "I only found out about the evacuation from a friend, and my son came to pick us up."

Local officials try to maintain calm

Official websites in the Kursk region are full of warnings about airstrikes, and the Russian Emergencies Ministry has declared a state of emergency in the region.

At the same time, officials appear to be trying to assuage concerns, describing the events of the last week as a "difficult operational situation" and saying refugees have been "forcibly resettled."

Denis Grekov, a political scientist in Russia, has taken a dim view of the authorities' response. "The people living in the Russian border regions near Ukraine are in urgent need of reliable information," he said. "After all, this is a security issue."

However, he believes Russian authorities have nothing to fear from social unrest in these areas.

"Many of the refugees are living in a very precarious situation. They just want the authorities to do something for them, they are not calling for regime change."

This article was originally written in Russian.