Moscow urges UN and Red Cross to decline Kiev's invite to visit Kursk

Russia has called on the United Nations and the Red Cross to reject an invitation from Kiev to participate in an inspection of areas in Russia's Kursk region, some of which are partially controlled by Ukrainian troops.

"We expect that such provocative statements will not be
accepted by the addressees. This is a pure provocation," Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said on Monday in Moscow.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry had earlier stated that Ukraine's forces were observing the rights of the people in the occupied zone and doing all in their power to protect the civilian population from the effects of combat.

Ukraine was asking for UN assistance in providing humanitarian aid, it said. It called on the Red Cross to join the mission in a letter published on the Foreign Ministry website.