Putin orders greater than 76,000 to evacuate after Ukrainian incursion
Russia has evacuated more than 76,000 people from border areas in the western region of Kursk as Ukraine continues to push deeper in its cross-border offensive, Russian media reported.
‘More than 76,000 people have been temporarily relocated to safe places,’ the state-run TASS news agency reported, citing a local official at a press briefing on Saturday.
Russia has claimed Ukrainian forces are responsible for a significant push into Russian territory, with hundreds of tanks and troops reported moving east in recent days.
A Russian milblogger claimed on Friday that Ukrainian forces had carried out a second incursion northeast of Sumy City and were advancing on Kucherov.
Temporary accommodation shelters have been set up across eight regions to house evacuees as the war appears to move closer to Russia.
Ukrainian servicemen ride a BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicle near the border in Sumy, Ukraine
People from the border districts of Kursk region board buses bound for Moscow, on Friday
Ukrainian servicemen ride a military vehicle near the border with Russia on Saturday
Pro-Kyiv forced stormed into Russia’s southwestern Kursk region on Tuesday morning, deploying around 1,000 troops and more than two dozen armoured vehicles and tanks, according to the Russian army.
It appears to be the most significant Ukrainian attack into Russia since the war erupted, with analysts suggesting Kyiv’s troops had advanced up to several miles into Russia.
While Ukraine has not officially confirmed the offensive, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday that Russia needed to ‘feel’ the consequences of its invasion.
‘Russia brought the war to our land and should feel what it has done,’ Zelensky said, without directly referring to the offensive.
Ukraine’s offensive into the Kursk region appears to have caught Russia off guard.
The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, says Kyiv’s forces have pressed deeper into Kursk with ‘rapid advances’, reportedly going up to 20 miles beyond the border.
‘The lack of a coherent Russian response to the Ukrainian incursion into Kursk… and the reported rate of Ukrainian advance indicates that Ukrainian forces were able to achieve operational surprise,’ the Washington-based ISW said late Thursday.
Influential Russian military bloggers have blasted army leaders for failing to spot or quash the incursion.
Senior Ukrainian officials have not commented although Zelensky alluded to the attack on Thursday.
‘Everyone can see that the Ukraine army knows how to surprise and knows how to achieve results,’ he said.
Moscow has not presented detailed information on the extent of the advance.
It said Friday it had struck Ukrainian positions on the western edge of Sudzha, a town around five miles from the border that appeared to be the focus of Kyiv’s offensive.
Several Russian media shared a video purporting to show Sudzha residents appealing to President Vladimir Putin for help, warning that many were unable to evacuate.
‘In a few hours our town was turned into ruins … Our relatives are left behind, we can’t call them, there is no communication. Please help us get our land back,’ one resident said in the video.
A column of Russian Army trucks in Kursk region damaged by shelling on Friday
Russian troops delivering military equipment to the Kursk region on Saturday
Ukraine’s backers also have not been dissuaded by the apparent offensive, as the US on Friday announced a further $125mn in new military aid for Kyiv.
The aid package underscores ‘our unwavering commitment to (Ukraine) as they continue to battle back against Russian aggression,’ National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told journalists.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the aid would be drawn from American stockpiles and ‘includes air defense interceptors, munitions for rocket systems and artillery, multi-mission radars, and anti-tank weapons.’
The equipment ‘will help Ukraine protect its troops, its people and its cities from Russian attacks and reinforce its capabilities across the front lines,’ he said in a statement.
The United States has been a key military backer of Ukraine, committing more than $55 billion in weapons, ammunition and other security aid since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
