Russia has evacuated some 180,000 people from Kursk as President Vladimir Putin decried a Ukrainian offensive in the border region and accused Kyiv of seeking to “create discord” and “instill fear” in his country.
Putin on Monday held a security meeting with the governors that oversee border regions with Ukraine and promised the Ukrainian troops marching miles across his country would be wiped out by a stiff Russian response.
The acting governor of Kursk, Alexei Smirnov, said Ukraine has advanced more than 7 miles into the region in an area about 24 miles wide, taking about 28 settlements, according to independent Russian outlet Novaya Gazeta. In Kursk, 120,000 people have evacuated and another 60,000 are expected to leave soon.
In remarks published by the Kremlin, Putin said Ukraine had invaded Kursk in order to grab territory for negotiations but that he refused to negotiate with people who “attack civilians and civilian infrastructure, or pose threats to nuclear power facilities.”
“The leaders of the Kiev regime are not only perpetrating crimes against the Russian people but are also, in effect, pursuing the destruction of their own citizens, the Ukrainian people, whom they evidently no longer view as their own,” Putin said. “The adversary will undoubtedly face a strong response, and all the objectives we have set will certainly be achieved.”
Ukrainian forces, who broke into Kursk in a surprise offensive on Aug. 6, now control more than 600 square miles of Russian territory, according to a Telegram post from Ukraine’s commander-in-chief, Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who acknowledged for the first time Sunday that his forces were operating in Russia, said Kyiv would continue to work to “ensure peace.”
“Russia brought war to others, and now it is coming home,” Zelensky said in his nightly video address.
Ukrainian troops are fighting to gain control of several major towns in Kursk, including Sudzha and another town just northwest, Korenevo.
Russian forces are struggling to beat back the Ukrainian advance, even with Putin redeploying forces to push them out.
Russian military bloggers also reported that Ukraine appears to have begun digging trenches and other defenses in Kursk, a sign that they are preparing to hold territory, at least for the time being.
Kyiv’s surprise incursion comes as Russian forces are continuing to press forward across the 600-mile front in eastern Ukraine.
Putin on Monday said Ukraine’s Kursk offensive was intended to distract from those efforts but claimed Russian troops were increasing their advances and would not be deterred.
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