Authorities in Russia’s Kursk border region have ordered the evacuation of 20,000 more civilians as Ukraine advances further into its territory. 

Alexei Smirnov, the governor of Kursk, said on Thursday that police would coordinate the evacuation from the Glushkov district, which borders Ukraine.

On Wednesday, Kyiv said its cross-border assault, which was launched last week, advanced one to two kilometres into the Kursk region. Kyiv has claimed that it has control of more than 1,000 square kilometres.

Moscow’s forces have been seen digging trenches around 17 kilometres north of Ukraine’s furthest position in Kursk. 

Russian authorities have ordered the evacuation of nearly 200,000 people so far, the largest of its kind since the Second Chechen War.

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