Russia declares federal emergency as Ukrainian troops continue cross-border assault
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
The announcement comes four days after hundreds of Ukrainian troops crossed into Russia's Kursk region, staging an ongoing assault.
Russia’s Ministry for Emergencies on Friday declared a “federal level” emergency four days after hundreds of Ukrainian troops poured over the border in what appeared to be Kyiv’s biggest attack on Russian soil since the war began.
Little reliable information about the surprise Ukrainian operation has emerged, and its strategic aims are unclear. Ukrainian officials have refused to comment specifically on the incursion, which is taking place about 500 kilometres southwest of Moscow.
But a top adviser to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Myhailo Podolyak, said on Thursday that border region attacks will cause Russia to “start to realise that the war is slowly creeping inside of Russian territory.”
Podolyak also suggested that the operation would strengthen Kyiv’s hand in the event of negotiations with Moscow.
The region's acting governor, Alexei Smirnov, said on Telegram that “the operational situation in the Kursk region remains difficult". Social services and civic associations are providing assistance to people forced to flee their homes by the fighting, he said.
Russia declares federal level emergencies when there are more than 500 victims or damage exceeds 500 million roubles (€5.4m). The last given Russian figure for evacuations from Kursk was 3,000.
The assault came as the Ukrainian army struggles to repel intense Russian pushes against the front line in eastern Ukraine, especially in the Donetsk region. Russian President Vladimir Putin has made clear he wants to capture the parts of Donetsk that the Kremlin’s forces don’t already occupy.
The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, says Ukrainian forces have pressed on with their “rapid advances” deeper into the Kursk region, reportedly going up to 35km beyond the border.
“The lack of a coherent Russian response to the Ukrainian incursion into Kursk … and the reported rate of Ukrainian advance indicates that Ukrainian forces were able to achieve operational surprise,” the Washington-based ISW said late Thursday.
A Russian Defence Ministry statement Friday said only that the military “continues to repel the attempted invasion” and is responding with airstrikes, artillery and troops on the ground.
Ukraine has also kept up its strategy of hitting areas well behind the front with long-range drones, targeting military sites, oil refineries and other infrastructure.
Ukrainian drones attacked Russia’s Lipetsk region, which is about 300km from the Ukraine border, on Thursday night, authorities said.
The regional emergencies ministry in Lipetsk said there was a fire at a military airfield where fighter planes, including MiG-29s and Su-34s, are reportedly based.
Lipetsk governor Igor Artamonov said that unspecified electrical infrastructure was damaged, and nine people were wounded in the attack.
The Russian Defence Ministry said that 75 Ukrainian drones were shot down during the night, 19 of them over Lipetsk.
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The Ukraine has become Russia's second Afghanistan ... ah the price of one man's folly.
It will be interesting to see how Putin reacts. Sustained fighting on russian territory is not something his regime can probably tolerate.
I am sure Putin will use this as a tool to get people to back his war effort. It may very well work since it is now the peoples homeland getting attacked. Not so sure it was a good move on Ukraines part.
I believe it was a rather brilliant move on Ukraine's part. Russia has been able to focus their military to specific points of attack inside Ukraine for years now while lightly guarding their borders in other areas because they were the aggressors and didn't expect Ukraine to actually fight back and push inside Russian territory. This will reset the thinking that Russia can leave areas of their border nearly defenseless just assuming the goodwill of Ukraine would never actually assault their country while being so busy defending the territory Russia has illegally invaded. As to getting the Russian people to back Putin's war effort, those who suck Putin's tiny, shriveled cock, some conservative Americans included like that pissant Tucker Carlson, support whatever that lying piece of shit wanted to do no matter how illegal or egregious. Those who don't won't be jumping on the Putin bandwagon any time soon regardless of how much Russian territory Ukraine invades.
It will be interesting to see
Ukraine hasn't learned from history.
They can ask Napoleon, Hitler, and Charles XII how Russians are willing to fight when the Motherland is threatened.
Putin just got the excuse he needed to up the weapons he is using against Ukraine.
Nothing Biden or NATO can do about it.
nor has Putin.
What weapons that haven't been used by Putin, now be used due to a tit for tat, cause what about that, u invade our space, we invade yours. It is obviously not done to hold this territory, as I would say done to embarrass Putin and the Russian military, who against a determined properly armed Ukraine, seem to be failing years after they thought what would be a cake walk, continues. Now if the Russian people thought they were being invaded for real. that would change the deal.
If Putin had stayed in his own stinking country none of this would be happening now..
The problems inside Russia from its crumbling infrastructure to its people living in slums and poverty I would have thought would be a more pressing concern..
I have been there and a lot of the country especially regional areas would be classed as third world...
But no Putin decides to invade another country instead and thought it would be over in a week...
Unfortunately his crappy military leaders didn't tell him what year or decade and that will be much to Putin's detriment..
Napoleon and Hitler both forgot about Russians greatest ally, Grandfather Winter. It was his influence that caused both to get beaten. I don't know about Charles XII.