At least three civilians were killed in two separate Ukrainian attacks in the southwestern Kursk region, regional officials said Monday.Two women working for an agricultural firm were killed when a drone struck a van carrying five workers near the village of Shchegolek, Acting Kursk region Governor Alexander Khinshtein said.
Three others were hospitalized with bruises, he added.In a separate incident, a 53-year-old man was killed by an explosive device dropped by a drone in the village of Zvannoye, also near the border with Ukraines Sumy region, Khinshtein said.Both villages are located close to where Ukrainian and Russian forces have been fighting over the past several months.Last month, Russia said it had fully retaken control of the Kursk region, along with the help of North Korean troops, after Ukrainian forces captured dozens of villages during a surprise incursion in August 2024.Civilians in the border areas of both Russia and Ukraine have frequently been killed in drone and artillery attacks during the three-year war.Khinshtein said last week that 288 civilians had been killed during the Ukrainian offensive in the region.Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky said Monday that the Kursk incursion had achieved most of its goals, noting that although Ukrainian forces had been pushed back, the operation demonstrated Kyivs military capabilities and hindered Russian offensives elsewhere along the front.Kyiv had hoped to use its temporary control over the territory as leverage in ceasefire negotiations with Moscow.AFP contributed reporting.