Russia has evacuated about 180,000 people from Kursk President Vladimir Putin condemned a Ukrainian offensive in the border region and accused Kiev of trying to “sow discord” and “sow fear” in his country.
Putin held a security meeting with governors overseeing Ukraine’s border regions on Monday, promising that Ukrainian troops marching miles through his country would be wiped out by a tough Russian response.
Kursk’s acting governor, Alexei Smirnov, said Ukraine had advanced more than 7 miles into the region in an area about 24 miles wide, capturing about 28 settlements, according to the independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta. In Kursk, 120,000 people have been evacuated and another 60,000 are expected to leave soon.
In remarks published by the Kremlin, Putin said Ukraine had invaded Kursk to seize territory for negotiations, but that he refused to negotiate with people who “attack civilians and civilian infrastructure or pose a threat to nuclear power plants.”
“The leaders of the Kiev regime are not only committing crimes against the Russian people, but in fact are also striving to destroy their own citizens, the Ukrainian people, whom they apparently no longer consider their own,” Putin said. “The adversary will undoubtedly receive a strong reaction, and all the goals we have set will certainly be achieved.”
According to a Telegram message from Ukrainian Supreme Commander Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, Ukrainian forces, which entered Kursk in a surprise offensive on August 6, now control more than 1,500 square kilometers of Russian territory.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who acknowledged for the first time on Sunday that his troops were operating in Russia, said Kiev would continue to work to “ensure peace.”
“Russia brought war to others, and now it is coming home,” Zelensky said this in his late-night video address.
Ukrainian forces are fighting for control of several major towns in Kursk, including Sudzha and another town just to the northwest, Korenevo.
Russian forces are struggling to hold back the Ukrainian advance, even as Putin has redeployed his troops to push them back.
Russian military bloggers also reported that Ukraine appears to have begun digging trenches and other defenses in Kursk, a sign that the country is preparing to hold the area, at least for now.
The surprise invasion of Kiev comes as Russian forces advance along the 600-mile (965-kilometer) front in eastern Ukraine.
Putin said Monday that Ukraine’s Kursk offensive was intended to distract from those efforts, but he also claimed that Russian troops were accelerating their advance and would not be deterred.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Visit The Hill for breaking news, weather, sports and streaming video.
