(Moscow) Russia on Saturday imposed an “anti-terrorist” regime in three regions bordering Ukraine, on the fifth day of a Ukrainian armed incursion into the Kursk region, where 76,000 people had to be evacuated to “safe places”.
So far, Kyiv has refrained from explicit comments on the attack. However, in the evening, Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged for the first time actions to “move the war” to Russian territory.
“Ukraine proves that it can deliver justice and exert the necessary pressure: pressure on the aggressor,” the Ukrainian president continued in his daily address.
For its part, the Russian atomic energy agency Rosatom warned that “the actions of the Ukrainian army” posed “a direct threat” to the Kursk nuclear power plant. The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, had already called on Friday for “maximum restraint in order to avoid a nuclear accident.”
The Ukrainian offensive began Tuesday morning when military units crossed the border and entered the Kursk region, advancing several dozen kilometers, according to independent analysts.
PHOTO RUSSIAN DEFENSE MINISTRY PROVIDED BY ASSOCIATED PRESS
Faced with this “unprecedented attempt to destabilize the situation,” the Russian authorities announced on the night of Friday to Saturday the establishment of an “anti-terrorist operation regime” in the regions of Kursk, Belgorod and Briansk, all bordering Ukraine.
This measure involves in particular “restrictions on the movement of vehicles and pedestrians in the streets, on the roads” and in the use of means of communication.
Strengthening the Belarusian system
On Saturday, the Russian Defense Ministry assured that it continued to “repel the attempted border incursion of the Ukrainian armed forces” in the Kursk region, using aviation and artillery. It had announced the sending of reinforcements the day before.
For its part, on Telegram, the Ministry of Defense of Belarus, a country allied with Moscow, but whose military does not participate directly in hostilities, declared that it was strengthening its presence in the southern region of Gomel, bordering Ukraine, by deploying additional troops and missiles there in order to “react to any possible provocation.”
On social media, Belarusian diplomacy castigated a “senseless adventure” by Kyiv’s forces and claimed that Ukrainian drones had been shot down during the night over Belarus, denouncing a “very serious incident”.
More than 76,000 people living in the border areas of the Kursk region have been “temporarily” evacuated to “safe places”, a representative of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations said on Saturday.
Russian authorities said on Tuesday that the incursion had left five civilians dead and 55 injured, but have not provided any new figures since.
“Telling stories”
The Russian army confirmed on Friday that Ukrainian soldiers had reached Sudja, a town of 5,500 inhabitants about ten kilometers from the border where there is a transit hub for gas still supplying Europe – Hungary, Slovakia – via Ukraine. The progress and numbers of Ukrainian troops participating in this attack are however not known.
The Ukrainian army took the Russian army by surprise, even though it has superior resources in terms of men and weapons to those of Ukraine and had taken the initiative on the front at the end of 2023, following the failure of the Ukrainian summer counter-offensive.
Denis, a Muscovite interviewed by AFP on Saturday, regrets that Russian forces failed to anticipate the Ukrainian operation. He believes it is either a “very cunning plan” by the Ukrainians or the result of “mistakes” by the Russian command.
For him, the establishment of an “anti-terrorist” regime comes late. “It should have been established immediately and not shouted ‘Hurrah! We’re sending them all back to the border!’ and told stories,” he sneers, referring to the first statements of the Russian army which assured that it had immediately pushed back the enemy.
The picture of this incursion drawn up by military experts shows a rapid advance of Ukrainian formations, while in other parts of the front, the conflict has metamorphosed into a war of attrition since the end of 2022. Russian soldiers have been gaining ground in the eastern Donetsk region in recent weeks and could conquer important cities if this trend continues, analysts believe.
In mid-May, Russian troops themselves opened a new front by attacking the Ukrainian region of Kharkiv (northeast), where they were blocked by the Kyiv army in the town of Vovchansk, still in the grip of fighting.
The Ukrainian military, however, reported on Saturday the lowest number of “engagements” against Russian forces since June 10. Analysts have speculated that the incursion into Russia would help relieve Kyiv, forcing Moscow to withdraw units from other sectors of the front.