A state of emergency has been declared in Russia’s Kursk region as a rare cross-border attack by Ukrainian troops continued on Wednesday.
The acting regional governor, Alexei Smirnov, stated that the emergency measures were necessary “to eliminate the consequences of enemy forces coming into the region.”
Russian officials reported that at least five civilians have been killed and 31 wounded, including six children, since the start of the incursion. Ukraine has not officially commented, and the extent of the incursion remains unclear.
On Tuesday morning, Moscow reported that up to 1,000 Ukrainian troops, along with 11 tanks and more than 20 armored combat vehicles, entered Russia near the town of Sudzha. Fighting reportedly occurred in several villages throughout the day, prompting local authorities to urge residents to limit their movements and cancel all public events.
Numerous air alerts were issued in Kursk, and verified footage showed fighter jets flying low over the region with smoke rising from the ground. Thousands of people were evacuated from border areas, and doctors were being brought in from other cities, according to Mr. Smirnov.
Ukrainian incursions into Russian territory have been extremely rare since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022.
On Wednesday evening, Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Honcharenko claimed that the Ukrainian army had established control over the Sudzha gas hub, a major facility for transiting natural gas from Russia to the EU via Ukraine. This facility is the only entry point for Russian gas into the EU. Although the BBC has not verified this claim, Mr. Honcharenko’s statement marked the first confirmation of an incursion into Russian territory by a Ukrainian official.
In a Facebook post, Mr. Honcharenko suggested that the incursion would demonstrate to Europeans and Americans that “Russia can and needs to be attacked.” Speaking to the BBC’s Newshour, he added, “From a military point of view, we are trying to take back the initiative.”
“We are showing the world that the world should not be scared of escalation or the reaction of Putin. There is no reaction,” he said.
“For the first time since the Second World War, Russian territory that is internationally recognised is occupied and Putin did not [turn] to nukes and so on.”
He said the incursion would also force Russia to move troops to the region and hopefully decrease the number of attacks it can carry out in eastern Ukraine.
A White House spokesperson said the US had no previous knowledge of the attack and that it planned to reach out to the Ukrainian military “to learn more about their objectives”.
‘Heavy’ fighting in Sudzha
In a televised meeting with government officials on Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine of launching a “major provocation” and “firing indiscriminately” at civilian buildings and residences.
Russia’s Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov said the “advance” into the Kursk region had been stopped, with Russian forces “continuing to destroy the adversary in areas directly adjacent to the Russian-Ukrainian border”.
Mr Gerasimov said Ukrainian forces aimed to take over the area around the town of Sudzha, and that Russia had already killed 100 men and injured another 215.
However, some popular and generally well-informed pro-war Telegram channels suggested the situation on the ground was not as stable as the Kremlin said.
Blogger Yuri Kotenok described the battles in Sudzha and nearby Korenevo as “heavy,” while the channel Rybar reported that the situation around Sudzha was “continuing to deteriorate” with Ukrainian forces advancing towards the town. The BBC has not been able to verify these claims.
The Russian National Guard has increased security at the Kursk nuclear power plant, located approximately 70km (43 miles) northeast of Sudzha.
In the Belgorod region, which borders Kursk, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov issued missile attack warnings throughout Tuesday and reported injuries from Ukrainian air attacks.
On Wednesday, Volodymyr Artyukh, the head of Ukraine’s Sumy region, ordered the evacuation of areas bordering Kursk.
Ukrainian Colonel Vladislav Seleznyov told the prominent Nexta channel that the attack was “preventative,” noting that an estimated 75,000 Russian troops were gathering near the border.
Following a major cross-border incursion by Russia into the northeastern Kharkiv region in May, there were concerns that Moscow might attempt a similar move into the Sumy region further north.
With Ukraine now reportedly capturing several settlements and highways, those concerns may have been alleviated for the moment.
However, with Ukrainian forces already stretched thin and outnumbered, some military analysts are questioning the prudence of such cross-border raids.
This is not the first incursion into Russia by fighters based in Ukraine. Last year, anti-Kremlin groups launched raids that were repelled. These forces crossed into the Belgorod and Kursk regions again in March, engaging in clashes with Russian security forces.