The governor of Russia’s Belgorod Oblast ordered civilian evacuations from a district bordering Ukraine, citing increased military activity.
It comes as Ukraine launched an incursion into Russian territory on 6 August and advanced 30 kilometers (18 miles) into Russia’s Kursk Oblast.
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy called this operation an effort to push the war into “the territory of the aggressor.”
The governor of Russia’s Belgorod Oblast, Vyacheslav Gladkov, announced the evacuation on Telegram due to “enemy activity on the border,” describing an “alarming morning” in the Krasnoyaruzhsky district.
“I’m confident that our military will do everything to deal with the emerging threat,” Gladkov stated.
However, he emphasized the need to relocate residents to “safer places” as a precautionary measure.
The Krasnoyaruzhsky district in northwestern Belgorod shares a border with Ukraine’s Sumy Oblast.
Its proximity to recent military developments is notable, with the district center of Krasnaya Yaruga located approximately 45 kilometers (27 miles) from Sudzha in Russia’s Kursk Oblast, where Ukrainian forces reportedly entered.
Before the evacuation announcement, Russian military bloggers reported a Ukrainian attack on Kolotilovka, a border village within the district. Gladkov urged Kolotilovka’s residents to leave the area three days before the wider evacuation order.
Ukraine was keeping quiet on the Kursk incursion for a while after it began, but on 11 August, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi, made his first public statement confirming that “the operation” continues.
Related:
- Ukraine has already advanced 30 km inside Russia, while the Russian army is constructing a new defense line 60 km from border
- Kremlin downplays Ukrainian incursion into Kursk Oblast — ISW
- US seeks to understand goals and strategy of Ukraine’s Kursk incursion
- Russia declares “counter-terrorist operation” in Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk oblasts bordering Ukraine