Russia said Wednesday that fighting was continuing for a second day in the Kursk border region following an incursion by Ukrainian forces.
“The operation for the destruction of Ukrainian army units is continuing,” the defense ministry said on social media.
“The enemy’s movement further into Russian territory has been prevented.”
Kursk regional governor Alexei Smirnov said “several thousand” people had been evacuated from the border region, and all mass gatherings had been canceled.
“Over the course of the last day, with our help, several thousand people left the shelling zone by personal transport,” Smirnov said in a video message on Telegram.
But he added: “The situation in the region is under control.”
Ukraine has not commented on the incursion.
Russian officials said five people had been killed and 24 injured, of whom 13 have been hospitalized, as a result of the fighting.
The defense ministry said there had been losses on the Ukrainian side of 260 soldiers and 50 armored vehicles, including seven tanks and eight armored personnel carriers.
The claim could not be independently verified.
