Photo credit: politico
About 180,000 Russian civilians are being taken to safety from regions near the border with Ukraine as the Kremlin struggles to deal with Ukraine’s continued cross-border feats.
Politico reports that the acting Governor of the Kursk region, Alexei Smirnov, told Vladimir Putin, the Russian leader, that over 120,000 people have left the region, and another 60,000 are waiting to be evacuated. He told Putin that Ukraine is holding 28 towns and villages.
Reports from Russian military bloggers indicate that Ukrainian troops have been seen much further inside Russian territory.
Meanwhile, local authorities have ordered residents in parts of Russia’s Belgorod region bordering the Kursk region to evacuate early Monday morning. Vyacheslav Gladkov, the regional Governor, told residents to vacate the Krasnoyarsk district, saying, “We have had an alarming morning” due to “enemy activity.”
Ukrainian troops began their offensive into Russian territory last Tuesday, pushing into parts of the Kursk region. They later expanded the campaign to the neighboring Belgorod region. It is the most significant incursion into Russian territory since the Russian invasion in 2022. It has boosted the morale of Ukraine and its Western allies
Although Russia is boasting that it has the situation under control, its forces have been caught flat-footed by Ukraine’s attacks. Even Russian military bloggers have noted that Ukrainian troops are continuing to expand the territory they control.
