Russia Announces Emergency In Kursk Due To Attack. Ukraine

Russian Army/Obviously Alexey Konavalov/TASS

JAKARTA - Russia declared a federal state of emergency in the Kursk region due to clashes with Ukrainian troops that have lasted for four days.

The Russian Emergencies Ministry announced the decision on Friday, August 9, after a government commission meeting for preventing and overcoming emergency situations.

The discussion includes the situation in the Kursk region due to attacks by the Ukrainian armed forces. The federal response rate has been set in the region," the statement said.

Ukraine intensified shootings in the Kursk region from Monday night to Tuesday. The artillery strike was followed by an infantry attack by Ukrainian tanks and armored vehicles near the city of Sudzha.

"Russia's Defense Department initially reported on Tuesday that 300 Ukrainian soldiers, 11 tanks, and 20 armored vehicles had crossed Russia's borders. But on Wednesday, Russia's Chief of Staff General Valery Gerasimov claimed that around 1,000 Ukrainian military personnel were involved in the fighting," the statement said.

Experts put forward the attack and destruction of the Sudzha gas station where Russia pumped gas into Europe likely aimed at diverting Russian command from Donbas.

Another possibility is to disrupt rail supply lines to Russian armed forces in Ukraine's Kharkiv region and increase the morale of the Ukrainian army.

Russian authorities have also expressed concern about the Kursk PLTN located near the battle and security sites being reportedly tightened, according to the Russian Guard Corps.

Authorities in the Kursk region said five civilians, including a paramedics, an ambulance driver, and a 24-year-old pregnant woman, were killed.

In addition, 66 others, including six children, were injured in the Ukrainian attack. Massive evacuations of several thousand people have been ordered from the combat zone.