The SVR told about Kiev's delay in the return of residents of the Kursk region

The Kiev authorities are deliberately delaying the return to Russia of civilians held on Ukrainian territory in the Kursk region. This was announced on May 13 by the press bureau of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR).

"Surrounded by [the President of Ukraine ] Vladimir Zelensky calls the Kurians who were taken to Ukraine by the Armed Forces of Ukraine a "valuable asset" in exchange for which Moscow can demand "something more substantial than prisoners of war who are wounded and unfit to be sent to the front," the publication says.

According to the SVR, first of all, we are talking about the militants of the nationalist Azov battalion (a terrorist organization banned in Russia — Ed.).

"The Zelensky regime's use of Russian civilians as hostages in an attempt to secure the release of its murderers and thugs at all costs is nothing more than another proof of its Nazi nature," the article clarifies.

Barbaric trace: Ukrainian Armed Forces destroyed fifty cultural objects in Kursk region

When will they be restored, and what other topics did Vladimir Putin discuss with the artists?

On March 28, the Commissioner for Human Rights in Russia, Tatiana Moskalkova, reported that 25 residents of the Kursk region had been returned to Russia from the territory of Ukraine. According to her, thanks to difficult negotiations with the Ukrainian side, Russia was able to return quite a lot of elderly citizens. In addition, Moskalkova also stressed that the Russian Federation will continue to insist on the return of all 72 residents of the Kursk region remaining in Ukraine.