Russia establishes 'anti-terror' regime to repel Ukrainian incursion

Photo: Sergei Supinsky Agence France-Presse Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (C) stands in front of an F16 fighter jet during a ceremony to mark the Ukrainian Air Force Day at an undisclosed location on August 4, 2024.

Agence France-Presse in Moscow

Published at 16:20 Updated at 19:19

• Europe

Russia on Saturday imposed an “anti-terrorist” regime in three regions bordering Ukraine, on the fifth day of an armed Ukrainian incursion into the Kursk region, where 76,000 people had to be evacuated to “safe places.”

Until now, kyiv had refrained from explicit comments on this attack, but in the evening, Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged for the first time actions to “move the war” to Russian territory.

“Ukraine is proving that it can deliver justice and exert the necessary pressure: pressure on the aggressor,” the Ukrainian president continued in his daily address.

For its part, the Russian atomic energy agency Rosatom warned that “the actions of The Ukrainian army” posed a “direct threat” to the Kursk nuclear power plant.

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, had already called on Friday for “maximum restraint in order to avoid a nuclear accident.”

The Ukrainian offensive began on Tuesday morning when military units crossed the border and entered the Kursk region, advancing several dozen kilometers, according to independent analysts.

Faced with this “unprecedented attempt to destabilize the situation,” the Russian authorities announced on the night of Friday to Saturday the establishment of an “anti-terrorist operation regime” in the Kursk, Belgorod and Briansk regions, all bordering Ukraine.

This measure notably involves “restrictions on the movement of vehicles and pedestrians in the streets, on the roads” and on the use means of communication.

Strengthening of the Belarusian device

On Saturday, the Russian Defense Ministry assured that it was continuing to “repel the attempted border incursion of the Ukrainian armed forces” in the Kursk region, using aviation and artillery. It had announced the day before the sending of reinforcements.

For its part, on Telegram, the Defense Ministry of Belarus, a country allied with Moscow but whose military does not participate directly in hostilities, declared that it was strengthening its device in the southern region of Gomel, bordering Ukraine, by deploying additional troops and missiles there in order to “react to any possible provocation”.

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On social media, Belarusian diplomacy castigated a “senseless adventure” by kyiv’s forces and claimed that Ukrainian drones had been shot down during the night over Belarus, denouncing a “very serious incident.”

More than 76,000 people living in the border areas of the Kursk region have been “temporarily” evacuated to “safe places,” a representative of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations said on Saturday.

Russian authorities had claimed on Tuesday that the incursion had left five civilians dead and 55 injured, but have not provided a new toll since then.

“Telling each other stories” stories »

The Russian army confirmed on Friday that Ukrainian soldiers had reached Sudja, a town of 5,500 inhabitants about ten kilometres from the border, where there is a transit hub for gas still supplying Europe — Hungary, Slovakia — via Ukraine.

The progress and numbers of Ukrainian troops participating in this attack are, however, not known.

This took the Russian army by surprise, even though it has greater resources in men and weapons than Ukraine and had taken the initiative on the front at the end of 2023, following the failure of the Ukrainian summer counter-offensive.

Denis, a Muscovite interviewed by AFP on Saturday, regrets that the Russian forces did not manage to anticipate the Ukrainian operation. He believes that this is either a “very cunning plan” by the Ukrainians or the result of “mistakes” by the Russian command.

For him, the establishment of an “anti-terrorist” regime comes late. “It should have been established immediately and not shouted 'Hurrah! We'll send them all back to the border!'” and tell each other stories,” he sneers, referring to the first statements by the Russian army, which assured that it had immediately pushed back the enemy.

The picture of this incursion drawn up by military experts shows a rapid progression of Ukrainian formations, while in other parts of the front, the conflict has metamorphosed into a war of attrition since the end of 2022.

Russian soldiers have been gaining ground in the eastern region of Donetsk in recent weeks and could conquer important cities if this trend continues, analysts believe.

Russian troops themselves opened a new front in mid-May by attacking the Ukrainian region of Kharkiv (northeast) where they were blocked by Kiev's army in the city of Vovchansk, still in the grip of fighting.

However, the Ukrainian army reported on Saturday the lowest number of “engagements” against Russian forces since June 10. Analysts have speculated that the incursion into Russia would relieve Kiev, forcing Moscow to withdraw units from other sectors of the front.