Ukraine braces for reprisals as Russia sending more troops to Kursk

Tens of thousands evacuate as Russia imposes ‘anti-terror’ measures in Kursk and nearby regions of Bryansk and Belgorod.

Ukraine is bracing for more Russian attacks in retaliation for its cross-border incursion into the Kursk region as Russia said it was moving in reinforcements, including troops, extra tanks, artillery and rocket systems.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy acknowledged on Saturday that Ukrainian forces were fighting in Kursk, saying the operation was part of Kyiv’s attempt to restore justice after Russia invaded the country in 2022.

In his nightly video address, Zelenskyy said he had discussed the operation with top Ukrainian commander Oleksandr Syrsky.

“Today, I received several reports from commander-in-chief Syrsky regarding the frontlines and our actions to push the war onto the aggressor’s territory,” he said.

“I am grateful to every unit of the defence forces for ensuring that. Ukraine is proving that it can indeed restore justice and ensure the necessary pressure on the aggressor.”

The Ukrainian president’s comments came hours after Russia said it had introduced “anti-terrorism measures” in Kursk and two other regions bordering Ukraine in response to the operation.

The measures by the National Anti-Terrorism Committee in Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk included limits on transport in specific areas, tightened security around sensitive sites, and wiretaps of telephone and other communications, according to the RIA news agency.

The statement said the decision, taken by Alexander Bortnikov, the head of the Federal Security Service (FSB), was in response to Ukraine’s “unprecedented attempt to destablise the situation in a series of regions”.

More than 76,000 people were evacuated from areas in the Kursk region, the local emergency ministry was quoted by the Tass news agency as saying on Saturday.

Ukraine launched a surprise offensive in Kursk on Tuesday, in the most significant attack across the border since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Russia’s Ministry of Defence said more troops and munitions were being deployed in the border area near Kursk ahead of a possible counteroffensive, as Ukraine’s advance into the region appeared to catch Russia off guard.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has called the incursion a “large-scale provocation” by Ukraine, and the military’s Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov has promised to crush it.

Russian authorities had already declared a “federal-level” state of emergency in Kursk.

Meanwhile, on Friday, a Russian missile struck a supermarket in the Ukrainian town of Kostiantynivka in the frontline Donetsk region, killing at least 14 people and injuring 43 others, Ukrainian officials said.

“Russian terrorists hit an ordinary supermarket and a post office. There are people under the rubble,” Zelenskyy said on X.

Kostiantynivka is about 13km (8 miles) from the active combat line in Ukraine’s east.

“No situation on the battlefield can justify targeting civilians,” Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin said on X, while the regional governor, Vadym Filashkin, said a Kh-38 air-to-surface missile was used in the attack.

There was no immediate comment from Russia, which denies intentionally targeting civilians.

Meanwhile, in Ukraine’s northern Sumy region, volunteers were scrambling to evacuate dozens of residents and their pets, in anticipation of more Russian attacks.

Sumy Governor Volodymyr Artiukh ordered 28 villages evacuated from a 10km (six-mile) zone hugging the border. National police said on Friday that 20,000 people would have to leave.