Russia has secured the return of all Kursk region residents known to have been held by Ukraine after it launched its border incursion in 2024, Russia’s human rights ombudsman told President Vladimir Putin on Monday. “We managed to persuade Ukraine and bring back home all the residents of the Kursk region who were being unlawfully detained in Ukrainian territory,” said Yana Lantratova during her first public meeting with Putin since becoming human rights commissioner last month.

Russia’s Commissioner for Human Rights Yana Lantratova did not specify the number of people

The civilians were detained by Russian forces during the occupation of Mariupol and parts of Kyiv, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, and Luhansk oblasts in 2022.