When Ukraine launched a ground offensive in Russia’s Kursk region in August, President Vladimir Putin promised to quickly “disengage” Kiev’s forces and return normalcy to local residents.
But nearly three months later, traces of the conflict are still visible everywhere in the region’s capital, despite Russia claiming it is withdrawing Ukrainian troops.
School buildings in Kursk have been reinforced with sandbags, while many windows have been sealed with tape due to the threat of Ukrainian attacks.
Displaced people fleeing fighting near the border are regularly seen gathering at aid centers and some residents say they live in fear of aerial bombardment.
“You can’t show fear to your children. Because if you’re afraid and they realize it… they get scared,” said Margarita Kotova, 36.
The mother of three said her daughter’s schooling was often interrupted by air raid sirens and that state media were ignoring the impact of the conflict.
“If you look at the Russian and Kursk news, we are doing well, everything is great, everything is going according to some plan that you don’t understand,” he told AFP.
“We haven’t been told for a long time what’s happening at our border,” she said, adding that she now uses social media to find out “how things really are.” .
Russia says it is “achieving the goals” of its two-and-a-half-year offensive in Ukraine, but that statement rings hollow for many in the city that is home to thousands of internally displaced people.
‘Everyone is fed up’
At an aid station in Kursk, Oksana Barsukova looked sad as she stood in line for supplies.
The 44-year-old nursing assistant was told she could return to her home near the border within “three days” of fleeing the Ukrainian attack.
But like thousands of others, she has been displaced by the fighting, with no idea when she can go back. “We left everything and came here in the clothes we were wearing,” said the mother of three.
When she and her family tried to return to the house, they found that its windows were broken and “everything was broken”.
Hearing the sound of gunshot, they immediately left.
In the city, many residents go about their day as usual and passersby do not react when the aerial alert goes off.
Residents said they have accepted the grim reality of the conflict. “During a missile threat at a school, they sit in the aisles, or go down if there is a shelter in place at the school,” Kotova said.
School principal Marina Starikova said students had become “accustomed to the sirens”. “Everyone is fed up,” said Vladimir Kuroptev, a 27-year-old gym teacher who was displaced by the Kiev invasion.
They hope the conflict will end soon, but do not know when. “Of course, not this year, but in a year or two everything will be over.”
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)