On September 4, residents of Kursk Oblast launched a petition on VKontakte addressed to Vladimir Putin and the Ministry of Defense, calling for the evacuation of people from border settlements controlled by the Ukrainian military. The petition has garnered over 1,000 signatures.
Dana Sapraliyeva, the petition's author, reported that her relatives in the village of Guyevo, Sudzhansky District, have been out of contact since August 6. She also mentioned other villages "isolated from the Russian world": Borki, Plekhovo, Russkoye Porechnoye, Cherkasskoye Porechnoye, Martynovka, and Spalnoye. Residents in these villages are left without water, electricity, gas, and medication. Sapraliyeva warns that they will soon face food shortages and be unable to heat their homes.
"This is a cry for help from your people! Please don’t abandon those who have made their choice in your favor! Make a choice in their favor too!" the petition states.
In addition to the petition, residents of Sudzhansky District are sharing videos on social media featuring people from Guyevo. In the video, the villagers convey their message to Vladimir Putin for the establishment of a "green corridor" through Ukrainian soldiers.
In August, the Liza Alert search-and-rescue team received over 900 requests for missing person searches in Kursk Oblast, 36 times the number of requests in July. The whereabouts of approximately 700 individuals remain unknown. Acting Governor Alexey Smirnov reported that 500 civilians previously listed as missing have been found alive.