The Kremlin scrambled to evacuate residents from a border town Saturday, as Ukrainian troops quickly advanced toward a nuclear plant, four days after gaining a foothold in Russia’s southwestern Kursk region.
Mayor Igor Korpunkov of Kurchatov said Ukrainian forces had crossed the border into Russia last week with their sights set on the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant.
“The situation is tense, a state of emergency is in effect,” said Korpunkov. “However, all services and enterprises, including the city administration, are operating normally. I am personally in the city, at my workplace, monitoring the situation.”
There were reports of sporadic power outages throughout the region since Monday.
The International Atomic Energy Agency is monitoring the situation “and has channels of communication open to both sides of the conflict,” read a statement, issued to Russian news agency TASS. “At this point there is no reason for concern with regard to nuclear safety and security.”
On Friday, Ukraine knocked out an entire Russian reinforcement convoy, as fighters caught Russian troops off-guard. Video of the aftermath showing smoldering Russian trucks was shared online.
Ukrainian soldiers continued tomove further into Russia, reaching at least six miles into Russian territory, the deepest advance since Moscow invaded the neighboring nation in February 2022.
As it moved to tighten security, Russia designated three regions — Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk — as sites for “counter-terrorism” operations, aimed at halting Ukrainian troops from gaining any more ground.
Russia’s defense ministry contended it successfully pushed back against Ukrainian soldiers Saturday, stopping them in their tracks.
Ukraine officials have not yet officially acknowledged the cross-border incursion into Russia, though in his daily address Saturday President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked defense units that are “squeezing the war on the territory of the aggressor.”
“Ukraine proves that it really knows how to restore justice and guarantees exactly the kind of pressure that is needed,” Zelensky said in a video posted to social media. “Pressure on the aggressor.”
With Post wires
