Russia on Monday evacuated civilians from parts of a second region next to Ukraine, as Kiev stepped up military activity near the border, just days after its biggest incursion into sovereign Russian territory since the start of the 2022 war.
Ukrainian forces crossed the Russian border last Tuesday and infiltrated some western parts of Russia’s Kursk region. It was a surprise attack, possibly aimed at gaining leverage in potential ceasefire talks after the US election.
According to Russian war bloggers, Russia had stabilized the front in the Kursk region by Sunday, although Ukraine had seized a section of Russian territory where fighting continued on Monday.
In the neighbouring Belgorod region to the south, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said evacuations had begun from the Krasnaya Yaruga district because of “enemy activity on the border”.
“I am confident that our troops will do everything possible to cope with the threat,” Gladkov said. “We are starting to evacuate people living in the Krasnaya Yaruga district to safer places.”
Russia imposed tight security measures in the Kursk, Bryansk and Belgorod regions, while its ally Belarus said it was increasing troops along its border after Minsk said Ukraine had violated its airspace with a drone.
Russian officials say Ukraine’s attacks on Russian sovereign territory are aimed at showing its Western backers that Kiev can still launch major military operations, while also trying to gain a bargaining opportunity ahead of potential ceasefire talks.
Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 in what the Kremlin calls a “special military operation” and now controls 18% of Ukraine’s territory. Russian forces, which have a vast numerical superiority, have been advancing along the 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) border this year after failing to make any major gains in Ukraine’s 2023 counteroffensive.
Kiev broke its silence on the attacks on Saturday, when President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine had intruded into Russian territory to “restore justice” and put pressure on Moscow’s forces.
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According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Russia destroyed five drones over Belgorod, 11 over Kursk and two over Voronezh overnight. The ministry said it was thwarting Ukrainian attacks inside Russia. The ministry said it had destroyed several heavy weapons, including tanks.
The Ukrainian offensive has led some in Moscow to question how Ukraine was able to enter the Kursk region so easily, more than two years after the most intense land war in Europe since World War II.
Russian war bloggers said Ukrainian forces in Kursk were trying to surround Sudza, from where Russian natural gas flows into Ukraine, while major fighting was taking place near Korenevo, about 22 km (14 miles) from the border.
Russian company Gazprom said it would send 39.6 million cubic metres (mcm) of gas to Europe via Ukraine on Monday.
Moscow said 13 people were injured in a missile attack on Kursk over the weekend.
Although the United States said it was not told about the Ukrainian operation in advance, there were indications in Moscow that the attack would trigger a Russian response.
“We have no doubt that the organisers and perpetrators of these crimes, including their foreign curators, will be held accountable for them,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. “A strong response from the Russian armed forces will not be long in coming.”
A huge fire broke out at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, located in the part of Ukraine that is under the control of the Russian army. “These reckless attacks endanger nuclear safety at the plant and increase the risk of a nuclear accident. They must stop now,” Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said in a statement, without blaming anyone for the attack.
The plant’s Russian operator said Ukraine had started the fire with a military strike, but the reactors were in cold storage. Zelensky accused Russia of starting the fire.
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