State of emergency declared as Ukraine launches raid into Russia
Russian officials reported that at least five civilians have been killed and 31 wounded, including six children
Ukraine has not officially commented on the situation, and the extent of the incursion remains unclear
On Tuesday, up to 1,000 Ukrainian troops, along with 11 tanks and over 20 armoured vehicles, reportedly entered Russia near the town of Sudzha

State of emergency declared as Ukraine launches raid into Russia

A state of emergency has been declared in Russia’s Kursk region following a rare cross-border attack by Ukrainian troops. Acting regional governor Alexei Smirnov stated this move was necessary to address the consequences of the incursion.

Russian officials reported that at least five civilians have been killed and 31 wounded, including six children, since the attack began. Ukraine has not officially commented on the situation, and the extent of the incursion remains unclear.

On Tuesday, up to 1,000 Ukrainian troops, along with 11 tanks and over 20 armoured vehicles, reportedly entered Russia near the town of Sudzha. Fighting occurred in several villages, leading local authorities to urge residents to stay indoors and cancel public events.

For the second day in a row, news about Kursk has not disappeared from the information field. I am confident that our military leadership will provide official information on everything.

But I have an important message for our allies. We are already taking the initiative, we are…
— Oleksiy Goncharenko (@GoncharenkoUa) August 7, 2024

Air alerts were issued in Kursk, and verified footage showed fighter jets flying low and smoke rising from the ground. Thousands of people were evacuated, and additional doctors were brought in from other cities.

Ukrainian incursions into Russian territory have been extremely rare since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. On Wednesday evening, Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Honcharenko claimed that Ukrainian forces had taken control of the Sudzha gas hub, a key facility for the transit of Russian natural gas to the EU.