Ukraine acknowledges Kursk incursion; Russia declares state of emergency

Aug. 8 (UPI) -- Russia declared a state of emergency in the Kursk region after Ukraine forces made an incursion into the country and Kyiv acknowledged their offensive for the first time.

Ukraine's cross-border advances killed five civilians and injured 30, including six children. Russia's regional governor Alexey Smirnov ordered an evacuation from the Ukraine border.

"The root cause of any escalation, shelling, military actions, forced evacuation and destruction of normal life forms, including within [Russia's] own territories like Kursk and Belgorod regions, is solely Russia's unequivocal aggression," Mykhailo Podolyak, advisor for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on X , justifying the attack.

"This includes attempts to seize foreign territories and disregard for international law norms that clearly uphold sovereignty and territorial integrity. The architect behind the 'self-destruction of Russia' concept is well-known -- none other than the entity Putin himself."

Russian military bloggers have reported that Ukraine has control of the western part of Sudzha about six miles into Russia. Fighting has also occurred on the highway east of Korenevo, 13 miles north of the Russia-Ukraine border.

The decision to issue a state of emergency Wednesday night was taken to deal with the fallout from a major cross-border raid launched by Ukraine the previous evening, said regional governor Alexey Smirnov after earlier ordering the evacuation of thousands of residents from the region's border with Ukraine.

"In order to eliminate the consequences of enemy forces entering the region, I have decided to declare a state of emergency," Smirnov wrote on social media .

"We are beginning to provide assistance to the border area of Kursk region where our military is fighting off attacks by Ukrainian militants. Thanks to our neighbors, the first batch of humanitarian aid has already been collected and is on its way," he said in a post accompanied by a video showing boxed goods, generators and other supplies being loaded onto trucks.

Smirnov said the shipment included washing machines, refrigerators and microwave ovens for temporary accommodation centers being set up for 600 people displaced by the fighting with a second food aid shipment of water, canned food and other goods planned for Friday.

Russia said Tuesday that as many as 1,000 Ukrainian troops supported by 11 tanks and more than 20 armored combat vehicles had crossed into Russia near the town of Sudzha.

Fighting was reported in villages along the border with authorities canceling all public events and instructing residents to stay home. Air raid warnings were issued and video circulating online showed warplanes above the region and palls of smoke.

President Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine of a "large-scale provocation" but the state-run TASS news agency claimed that despite a "massive attack from Ukraine" the attempt to "break through the state border was thwarted ."

"Russian air defense forces shot down 26 Ukrainian drones and several missiles over the region," TASS reported.

The agency also said General Valery Gerasimov, chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, had promised Putin that the Ukrainian troops would be defeated and control of the border would be regained.

The Ukrainians had already lost 315 people, with at least 100 killed, along with 54 units of equipment, including seven tanks, Gen. Gerasimov was quoted as saying.

However, the Institute for the Study of War said that its latest analysis showed Ukrainian forces had made confirmed advances of at least 6 miles into Russia's Kursk province as of Wednesday amid continued mechanized offensive operations.

"Geolocated footage published on Aug. 6 and 7 shows that Ukrainian armored vehicles have advanced to positions along the 38K-030 route about 10 kilometers from the international border.

"The current confirmed extent and location of Ukrainian advances in Kursk Oblast indicate that Ukrainian forces have penetrated at least two Russian defensive lines and a stronghold."

It also cited Russian sources saying Ukrainian forces had captured 17.4 square miles of territory and 11 settlements inside Kursk, all within a five-mile zone on the Russian side of the border with Ukraine's Sumy province.

Ukraine has yet to officially comment on the claim but Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Honcharenko said the Ukrainian army captured a natural gas hub in Sudzha -- a major facility exporting Russian gas to the European Union via a pipeline across Ukraine -- and was retaking the initiative.

He said the lack of response from Moscow proved there was nothing to fear from taking the fight to the Russians.

"I have an important message for our allies. We are already taking the initiative, we are already showing how powerless Putin is. We are changing tactics," he said in a post on X .

"The U.S. position on the war in Ukraine needs to be clearer. We are fighting for our existence, and you are our main allies. There is no time for checks, action is needed."

The White House said it was in contact with Kyiv to establish what their objectives were but that it had not been notified prior to the launching of the incursion.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre would not specify whether any U.S.-supplied arms may have been used in the operation and, if so, whether it could lead to further escalation between Russia and Ukraine.

"I'm not going to get into hypotheticals. Let us do our outreach to the Ukrainian military," Jean-Pierre told a briefing Wednesday.

"We have to remember that, obviously, in this region, that there's Russian troops there. They are in a region of Russia. And they're in that region attacking Ukraine. And so, we can't forget that.

"But our policy has not changed. We are going to continue to stay focused on making sure they have what they need to defend themselves against Russia's aggression," said Jean-Pierre.