Russia dispatched military reinforcements to confront Ukrainian forces in an ongoing battle in its western Kursk region, the first foreign incursion on its territory since World War II. The Defense Ministry in Moscow said in a statement Saturday that tanks had arrived and “taken up firing positions” against the Ukrainian troops, whose surprise cross-border operation is the biggest assault on Russia since President Vladimir Putin ordered the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Earlier, the ministry said it was also deploying additional artillery and multiple-rocket launchers as the fighting entered a fifth day. Russian security services announced a “counter-terrorism” regime in Kursk and the neighboring Belgorod and Bryansk border regions on Saturday, which allows for restrictions on movement. The National Anti-Terrorism Committee said it was a response to Ukraine’s “unprecedented attempt to destabilize the situation” in Russia. Putin looked grim-faced at a regular meeting of his Security Council on Friday, though he offered no comment on the crisis that’s spiraling into the most serious wartime challenge to the Kremlin since last year’s short-lived mutiny by Wagner mercenary leader Yevgeny Prighozin.
Ukraine Continues Incursion Into Russia’s Kursk Region
Air defenses downed 26 drones overnight in the Kursk region and another six over the Yaroslavl region northeast of Moscow, the Defense Ministry said on Telegram. Russia said Friday that its forces used air strikes and artillery to stop Ukrainian troops pushing “deep into” its territory in Kursk. Authorities in Moscow declared a federal emergency in the region as thousands of people abandoned their homes to flee the fighting. While much of the situation on the battlefield remained unclear, Russian military bloggers reported Ukrainian advances as deep as 37 kilometers (23 miles) into the Kursk region. Video posted on social media appeared to show a column of at least a dozen Russian troop vehicles that had been destroyed in the Rylsk district. The footage couldn’t be independently verified. The Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom said Saturday that the Kursk atomic power plant near the city of Kurchatov was operating normally, according to the Tass news service. Fighting around the town of Sudzha, the site of a key transit point for the last remaining pipeline carrying Russian gas to Europe, helped push European natural gas prices to the highest level this year on fears of possible disruptions to supplies. Flows were reported to be continuing within the normal range. While the US doesn’t support “long-range attacks” into Russia, the intervention in Kursk is consistent with Washington’s policy on Ukraine’s use of American-supplied weapons, Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters. “Ukraine is fighting a legitimate defensive war against an illegal aggression,” said Peter Stano, lead spokesperson for the EU’s foreign affairs and security policy. “In the framework of this legitimate right to defend itself Ukraine is entitled to hit the enemy wherever it finds necessary on its territory, but also on the territory of the enemy.” The spectacular operation in Kursk is a boost for Ukrainian army Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi, who’s faced criticism over his leadership, Volodymyr Fesenko, head of the Penta research institute in Kyiv, said in a Facebook post. “We have been waiting for something like this for a long time,” Fesenko said. NN: Little reported….. this may be a game changer, Watch the 10 minute video