Fear of more war haunts Kursk as Russia expels Ukrainian troops

RYLSK, Russia, March 26 (Reuters) - In the Russian region of Kursk, where Ukraine has been fighting for more than seven months, people say they want peace but fear there will be more war.

Ukraine's incursion into Russian territory was launched in August - more than two years into a major war triggered by Moscow's invasion of its neighbour - shocking a border region that hadn't seen conflict since World War Two.

Now, with Russia close to expelling the last Ukrainian troops, Kursk's populace is counting the cost.

For some residents like Leonid Boyarintsev, a veteran of the Sino-Soviet border conflict of 1969, the surprise enemy offensive served as justification for Russia to double down on its military activities in Ukraine.

"When we are victorious there will be peace because no one will dare to come crawling in again," the 83-year-old told Reuters in the town of Rylsk, adding that he blamed the West for stoking the conflict in Ukraine. "They will be too afraid to."

The damage that has been unleashed on towns and cities in the Russian region has brought home the horrors of war long suffered by Ukrainians.

In ancient Rylsk, 26 km (16 miles) from the border, the scars are everywhere - from the smashed merchant buildings from Tsarist Russia to the families still struggling with children living apart in evacuation.

"We want peace but it is very important that the peace is long term and durable," town Mayor Sergei Kurnosov told Reuters in the ruins of a cultural centre that was destroyed in a Dec. 20 Ukrainian attack.

Six people were killed and 12 injured in the attack, Russia said. Russia said the cultural centre was destroyed by U.S.-made HIMARS missiles. Abandoned m...
[Short citation of 8% of the original article]