Families Separated By Front Line In Russia's Kursk Region

Refugees from border areas of the Kursk region crowded into an aid point run by the Russian Red Cross (Credit: AFP)

Anastasia Gridina breaks down when she talks about keeping in touch with her three-year-old daughter Darina -- who is stranded in Ukrainian-occupied territory in Russia's Kursk region.

For a month after Ukrainian forces launched their surprise offensive there in August, Gridina had no contact at all with Darina and did not know if her daughter was alive or dead.