Putin accuses Ukraine of ‘major provocation’ in attack on Russia’s Kursk
Al Jazeera
State of emergency declared in southestern region amid fighting that began on Tuesday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused Ukraine of a “major provocation” after Moscow said it was battling a major cross-border attack on the southwestern Kursk region.
Alexey Smirnov, the region’s acting governor, said he had introduced a state of emergency amid two days of fierce fighting.
The Ministry of Health said 31 civilians, including six children, had been injured on Wednesday. Smirnov said the day before that five people had been killed as Ukrainian troops backed by tanks and armoured vehicles breached the border.
Russia did not provide any information on military casualties.
“The Kyiv regime has launched another major provocation,” Putin told Russian government officials on Wednesday, referring to the attack in the Kursk region, which borders Ukraine’s northern Sumy region.
