At least 640 Russian civilians were killed and 561 others were wounded during Ukraine’s occupation of the southwestern Kursk region, the Investigative Committee said Thursday on the second anniversary of Kyiv’s surprise cross-border incursion.
The updated figure from Russia’s top investigative body marks an increase from previous estimates that varied from around 350 to more than 500 civilian deaths during the months-long occupation.
Investigators on Thursday highlighted a case in which a Ukrainian serviceman was convicted of terrorism and sentenced to life in prison for allegedly collaborating with fellow soldiers to kill 14 civilians, as well as raping and killing eight women.
The Moscow Times could not independently verify those claims.
Since Ukraine was forced to retreat from the Kursk region in early 2025, Russia has secured the return of all residents known to have been held in Ukrainian captivity. However, the fate of another 320 civilians remains unknown, Russia’s human rights ombudswoman said in June.
The Investigative Committee said it is continuing a wide-ranging probe into the Ukrainian occupation of the Kursk region. Investigators said they are gathering testimonies from returned civilians to document potential war crimes.
Estimates from law enforcement authorities put total property damage at 505 billion rubles ($6.2 billion) across 186 towns and villages in the Kursk region, with at least 53 cultural heritage sites — including churches and museums — damaged during the fighting.
Ukrainian forces launched a surprise incursion into the border region in August 2024. They were forced to retreat in early 2025 after Russian forces, backed by North Korean troops, launched a counteroffensive.
More than 150,000 people in the Kursk region were ordered to evacuate towns and villages near the border amid the fighting.
Ukraine has had thousands of its own civilians held in Russian-occupied territory since the 2022 invasion.
Separately, a joint investigative report by the exiled news outlets IStories and Vyorstka published on Thursday estimated that at least 77 conscripted Russian soldiers died during the Kursk incursion and more than 30 others remain missing.
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