Ukraine updates: Kursk governor calls for quicker evacuation – DW – 08/11/2024

The acting governor of Kursk oblast in Russia, Alexei Smirnov, said on Saturday night that he had “instructed” the head of the Belovsky district of the region — in southwestern Kursk, near the border to the Sumy region of Ukraine — to “speed up” the implementation of orders to evacuate civilians. 

Russian authorities have been scrambling to relocate people this week amid a surprise Ukrainian incursion into parts of Kursk. Russia’s government has also been keen to describe the incursion as an escalation.

Although Ukrainian forces are not thought to control any of the territory, they appear to have established a disruptive presence that stretches quite far into the area, at least based on what analysts can observe via satellite.  

Russian media, including the state-owned TASS news agency, on Saturday quoted the region’s emergency situations ministry as saying that “more than 76,000 people” had been “temporarily relocated to safe places.” 

Russia also said on Friday that it was sending additional military equipment and personnel to the area over the weekend. 

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko and military administration officials said early on Sunday that air defenses were operating in Ukraine’s capital overnight. 

“Air defense units operating, air raid alert continues,” Klitschko wrote on the Telegram messaging app. 

Witnesses in Kyiv said they heard explosions, though these sounds could have been air defense systems at work rather than hits. 

It was not immediately clear if the attack had caused any damage or injuries. 

The head of Kyiv’s military administration, Serhiy Popko, said the capital was still threatened by Russian ballistic missiles. 

Ukraine’s air force said Kyiv, the surrounding region and all of eastern Ukraine were subject to air raid alerts.

msh/sms (AP, AFP, Reuters, DPA)