Russia on Monday ordered the evacuation of villages in Russia’s Kursk region, less than 15 kilometers from Ukraine, where Ukrainian forces have been waging an offensive since early August.
These areas have not witnessed battles yet, and the Russian authorities have not explained the reasons for this decision, which coincided with Moscow’s announcement in recent days that it had regained control of about 12 towns that Ukrainian forces had taken control of in August.
“Based on operational information and in order to ensure security, the regional staff decided on a mandatory evacuation of towns in the Rilsky and Khomutovsky districts, located within 15 kilometers of the border with Ukraine,” Alexei Smirnov, governor of Russia’s Kursk region, wrote on Telegram.
Smirnov called on residents to “understand the current situation” and “comply with the recommendations” of the authorities.
Smirnov did not say how many people were affected by the order.
“When evacuating, remember to take essential supplies with you and take care of your pets,” the Kursk authorities said on their Telegram account.
On August 6, Ukraine launched a surprise offensive in Russia’s Kursk region, with Kyiv saying its forces had taken control of hundreds of square kilometres and dozens of towns.
This led to the evacuation of about 150,000 civilians, according to Moscow.
On Thursday, Russia announced the recovery of territory from Ukrainian forces by launching a counterattack in this region.
Today, Monday, it announced the recapture of two towns in the Kursk region, namely “Ospenovka” and “Burki”.
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