Nearly 700 residents of southwestern Russia’s Kursk region remain missing almost a month after Ukrainian forces launched a surprise incursion there, the search and rescue group Liza Alert said Tuesday.
Of the 918 people who were reported missing last month, 202 were found alive, while five were confirmed dead. The search for the remaining 698 missing residents continues, the group said on social media.
On Wednesday, Kursk region Governor Alexei Smirnov said the whereabouts of more than 500 people had been established with the help of the Russian Red Cross, local authorities and law enforcement officials.
Ukrainian forces stormed into the Kursk region on Aug. 6, capturing dozens of towns and villages, and prompting the evacuation of around 130,000 people. An estimated 20,000 people remain in areas now under Ukrainian control.
Liza Alert stopped publishing missing persons reports in mid-August at the recommendation of regional authorities to protect families from potential scammers.
In early August, Russian prosecutors ordered the closure of a VKontakte page dedicated to missing persons in the Kursk town of Sudzha, which Ukrainian forces now control.
