KURSK, June 27. /TASS/. Five more residents of the Kursk Region who were taken prisoner by Ukraine in 2024 are returning home, Governor Alexander Khinshtein wrote on Max.

At the Belarusian border, they were met by Russian human rights ombudsperson Yana Lantratova along with regional security committee officials and medical personnel, he said. The return of this group of people was largely due to Lantratova’s efforts, Khinshtein noted.

"Maxim N. and Sergey V. are from Lyubimovka in the Korenevo District, while Mikhail is from Olgovka. Elena V. is from Sudzha, and Roman ended up near Martynovka while driving to evacuate a relative. All these residents of ours were taken prisoner in 2024, and for a long time, we did not know their whereabouts. The Ukrainian side remained silent about the fact that they were being held on its territory. It was stated earlier that there were no more of our residents in Ukraine, but that turned out not to be the case," the governor said.