Russian authorities acknowledged on Sunday a brief Ukrainian incursion into the Belovski district of the Kursk region, bordering the neighbouring Sudzha, where enemy troops entered Russia last Tuesday without being expelled so far.
“Yesterday, a Ukrainian subversive group entered the territory of the Belovskiy district, and our defenders managed to stabilise the situation,” Acting Governor of Kursk Alexei Smirnov wrote on his Telegram channel.
According to the Governor, there is currently “no fighting” in that area and Russian troops are doing “everything necessary to protect the civilian population.”
Thousands evacuated after Ukrainian incursion in Kursk
“It is important not to panic. But if they want to leave the district voluntarily, they can do so,” said Smirnov, who called on local residents to contact local authorities or call a special hotline to find out about evacuation possibilities.
According to official figures, at least 84,000 people have fled towns near the border with Ukraine in the Kursk region since Tuesday.
Meanwhile, authorities in another border region, Belgorod, reported on Sunday that people in some towns bordering Kursk had fled for fear of an intensification of Ukrainian attacks.
Moscow promises a “tough response”
Russia’s response to Ukrainian attacks on Russian civilian infrastructure aimed at intimidating the population “will not take long” and will be “tough,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Sunday.
“We strongly condemn these barbaric terrorist acts aimed at destroying civilian infrastructure, killing and intimidating civilians,” the diplomat said, commenting on the nightly bombardment of Kursk and other Russian regions with drones and missiles.
Zakharova said that the “organizers and perpetrators of these crimes” both in Ukraine and abroad will be held accountable.
The Russian Defense Ministry said Sunday that Ukrainian forces have suffered up to 1,350 casualties since the start of the ground incursion in Russia’s Kursk region, which is now in its sixth day.
According to the military report, since the beginning of the fighting in Kursk, on the border with Ukraine, “the enemy has lost up to 1,350 men and 29 tanks,” along with other military personnel.
Fifteen injured by Ukrainian missile
In addition to the ground attack, fifteen people were injured last night in the city of Kursk, capital of the eponymous Russian region, when fragments of a downed missile fell and damaged several buildings.
“Unfortunately, the attack by Ukrainian terrorists resulted in 15 people being injured, two of whom are in serious condition,” the acting governor of Kursk wrote on his Telegram channel.
Smirnov also issued warnings of airstrikes on Kursk several times last night.
Hours later, Russia’s Defense Ministry confirmed that it had shot down 16 drones and four Tochka-U missiles in the Belgorod, Bryansk, Voronezh and Oryol regions.
At least two dead in Russian attack in kyiv region
Meanwhile, in Ukraine, at least two people were killed, a man and his son, and three others were injured in a Russian attack on a town in the kyiv region last night.
The Ukrainian Air Force reported that two Russian missiles were fired at the capital. One hit the town of Browary in the kyiv region, where it hit several houses and killed a 35-year-old man and his 4-year-old son.
In addition, Ukrainian defence forces intercepted 53 Shahed drones in 11 regions launched during a massive night attack carried out by Russia.
In total, 57 drones were launched by Russia from Primorsko-Akhtarsk, Yeisk and Kursk, in an attack seen as a reaction to the Ukrainian incursion in Kursk.
In his usual evening address, President Volodomir Zelensky made a direct reference for the first time to the Kursk operation, saying that Ukraine wants to move the war onto Russian territory.
According to Zelensky, Commander-in-Chief Oleksander Sirki informed him about “the situation at the front and the transfer of the war to the territory of the aggressor.”
The president said Ukraine is proving it can achieve justice and put pressure on the aggressors.
Moscow / EFE
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2024-08-11 18:01:29