Russia continues evacuation of residents from Kursk's border areas

Russia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations has said that over 1,700 people have been evacuated from the border districts of Russia's Kursk Region overnight.

“Over the past 24 hours, evacuation activities for borderland residents were carried out in four municipal districts of the region. More than 1,700 people departed to safe areas independently and in organized columns,” the ministry said, Caliber.Az reports, citing Russian media.

About 10,000 people, including 3,000 children, are in 174 temporary accommodation centers in 24 regions of Russia, the agency said.

Ukraine launched its surprise offensive last week with a major cross-border raid into Kursk. Russia appears to be struggling to contain the incursion and has announced emergency measures and evacuated tens of thousands.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his forces were continuing to advance in Kursk and that he has ordered his generals to develop the next “key steps” in the operation. Kyiv now claims it controls at least 1,000sq km (386sq miles) of Russia.

Nearly 200,000 people have been forced to evacuate from border regions. On August 14, the governor of the Belgorod region declared a state of emergency, blaming the relentless bombardment by Ukraine.

Russia, which has deployed reinforcements to the region, said it had halted the Ukrainian advance and that attacks had been repelled at villages about 26 to 28km (16 to 17 miles) from the border.