Russia evacuates thousands from Kursk as Ukrainian forces advance
Al Jazeera
Ukrainian military says Russia has moved some troops from the occupied south but this is not a major redeployment.
Russian authorities have been evacuating thousands of civilians from the Kursk region as Ukrainian forces advance after a surprise incursion aimed at compelling Moscow to slow its progress along the rest of the front lines.
Kursk’s acting governor, Alexei Smirnov, said the Glushkovo district, which has a population of 20,000 and is 20km (12 miles) from the front, was being evacuated on Thursday.
At least 200,000 people have so far been moved from the border regions, according to Russian officials.
Russia’s Ministry of Defence said on Thursday that its forces had shot down Ukrainian drones over the neighbouring Belgorod region and Sukhoi-34 bombers had pummelled Ukrainian positions in Kursk.
The ministry also said its troops had taken better positions at several points to fight against what Ukraine described as carving out a buffer zone to protect its population against attacks.
