MOSCOW: Russia was battling a major cross-border incursion from Ukraine for a second day on Wednesday, with authorities evacuating several thousand civilians from the Kursk border region due to intense fighting, officials said.
The incursion began early Tuesday morning, with the Russian Defence Ministry announcing the deployment of air and artillery firepower to combat Ukrainian forces attempting to breach the Kursk region’s borders. The ministry stated that efforts to neutralize Ukrainian troops are ongoing, and that “the enemy’s movement further into Russian territory has been prevented.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Ukraine was carrying out a “large-scale provocation” in the border region of Kursk.
Speaking during a televised meeting with government officials, Putin accused the Kyiv regime of indiscriminate attacks using a variety of weapons, targeting civilian infrastructure, including residential buildings and ambulances.
“As you know, the Kyiv regime has undertaken another large-scale provocation. It is firing indiscriminately from various types of weapons, including rockets, at civilian buildings, residential houses and ambulances,” Putin said.
Kursk regional governor Alexei Smirnov reported the evacuation of “several thousand” people from the conflict zone, with all mass gatherings being canceled. “Over the course of the last day, with our help, several thousand people left the shelling zone by personal transport,” Smirnov stated in a video message on Telegram. He assured that the situation in the region remains under control.
Putin has vowed to support the affected region “on all fronts” and has mobilized resources to bolster local defences. Since the onset of the fighting, Russian officials have reported five fatalities and 24 injuries, with 13 persons hospitalized. The Defence Ministry also claimed significant losses on the Ukrainian side, including 260 soldiers and 50 armored vehicles.
The Kursk region, located just across from Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region, has been subjected to regular Ukrainian shelling since the conflict’s outset in February 2022. Russian Telegram channel Rybar, which has military ties, reported that Ukrainian forces had made some progress across the border, occupying several small settlements and reaching the outskirts of Sudzha, a town about 8 kilometers (5 miles) from the border. However, Russian forces have reportedly pushed them back.
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This incursion is part of a broader pattern of sporadic attacks from Ukraine into Russian territory, often involving units such as the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Freedom of Russia Legion, which support Kyiv’s efforts.
In May, Putin launched a major offensive into northeastern Ukraine aimed at establishing a security buffer to protect Russian border regions from shelling and aerial assaults. That offensive was focused on Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, to the southeast of the Sumy region, from where Tuesday’s cross-border raid was mounted.
Despite this, attacks have continued, with Russia’s Belgorod region declaring multiple villages near the border as no-go zones due to ongoing bombardments in July.
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