Over 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers are participating in the attack on the Russian border, according to the Russian army chief Valerij Gerasimov, as reported by the news agency AFP.
Regional governor Aleksej Smirnov writes on social media that a state of emergency is being introduced in the Kursk region from today, due to "enemy troops" entering the region.
At the same time, it is reported that Ukraine has ordered the evacuation of 6,000 residents, including over 400 children, on the Ukrainian side of the border, according to the regional governor of the Sumy region.
Ukraine has not confirmed
It is very unusual for Ukraine to enter Russia in this way, and Ukraine has not taken responsibility for the incursion. But on Tuesday evening, President Volodymyr Zelenskyj thanked the Ukrainian soldiers for their courage in a speech published on social media.
"The more pressure we put on Russia – the aggressor that brought war to Ukraine – the closer we get to peace. A just peace through just force", he writes on X without specifically referring to the battles in Kursk.
The White House in contact
The White House reports that the US has contacted Ukraine's military to obtain more information about Ukraine's "goals".
According to the White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, the US is urging Ukraine to take actions with "sound judgment".
In May, US President Joe Biden allowed Kiev to use US-supplied weapons against targets just beyond the Russian border to reduce Russia's pressure on the Kharkiv region – however, John Kirby, spokesperson for the US National Security Council, meant that "nothing had changed" regarding the US policy on attacks on targets within Russia.
Nuclear reactors near the border
It was on Tuesday that the battles broke out on the Russian side of the border, with some uncertainty about whether the attack was repelled or not.
As you know, the Kiev regime has carried out a new large-scale provocation, said Putin in televised parts of apparently urgently convened meetings in Moscow on Wednesday.
Military bloggers on both sides highlight that the Kursk nuclear reactors – which have three out of four reactors in operation – are only a few miles from the border, right near the combat zone.
Russia's national guard reports that it has strengthened the defense of the power plant.
