Officials in Kursk have said over 120,000 people have been evacuated as Russian forces continue to scramble a response to a Ukrainian military incursion that has penetrated 12 kilometers into Russia. DW has the latest.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has given some of his most detailed remarks to date on a surprise Ukrainian military offensive in Russia’s Kursk border region that was launched last Tuesday.
He accused Ukraine of attempting to “sow discord” among the Russian public, while attempting to gain leverage for possible cease-fire negotiations in the future.
The acting Kursk governor, Alexei Smirnov, said some 121,000 people have fled the Kursk region since the start of the fighting, and Ukrainian forces control 28 towns and villages, with its forces having penetrated 12 kilometers (7 miles) into the region.
Meanwhile, after a fire broke out at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, under Russian occupation, both sides have pointed the finger at each other.
Putin says Russia will ‘dislodge’ Ukraine from Kursk border region
Russian President Vladimir Putin told a meeting of defense and security officials broadcast on state television Monday that Ukraine’s recent incursions into the region of Kursk was an attempt to “destabilize the situation in the border zone.”
Putin added that Ukraine would receive a “worthy response,” and vowed to “dislodge” Ukrainian forces from Russian territory, insisting that Russian forces would prevail.
Russian forces are still scrambling to fight back the surprise Ukrainian incursion into the Kursk region after almost a week of fighting. More than 100,000 civilians have fled or been evacuated.
Putin also characterized the Ukrainian operation as an attempt to create public unrest and instability within Russia.
He claimed that rather than marking a military defeat, Kyiv’s offense had actually had the opposite effect by driving new recruitment into the Russian military.
Putin added that the fighting in Kursk was little more than Ukraine attempting to get leverage for future peace negotiations and that Russia’s ongoing campaign in Ukraine’s eastern region of Donbas was unaffected.
Acting Kursk regional governor Alexei Smirnov has said that Ukrainian forces have taken control of 28 settlements and advanced 12 kilometers (7.4 miles) into Russian territory.
Ukraine first pushed into the border area on August 6 has since made gains that have surprised Moscow and the Russian military, assisted by Western powers dropping restrictions on using their military equipment inside Russian territory.
Smirnov said that “as of today 121,000 people have left and been evacuated,” from the front lines, while 59,000 more need to leave.
The governor said that 12 Russian civilians have died as a result of the Ukrainian operation and that 121 have been wounded, including 10 children.
