Russia Ukraine war live: Kiev still advancing on Kursk, Moscow opens 400 shelters during evacuation

Vyacheslav Gladkov, governor of the Russian border region of Bergorod, today declared a state of emergency for the entire region, citing ongoing attacks by Ukrainian troops.

“The situation in the Belgorod region remains extremely difficult and tense,” Gladkov said, adding that daily shelling by the Ukrainian armed forces destroyed houses and caused civilian casualties.

“Therefore, we have decided to declare a regional state of emergency for the entire Belgorod region starting today and subsequently call on the government to declare a federal state of emergency.”

An official Kursk Border Areas Russia More residents were called on Monday to evacuate because the “situation is very tense” in the region, with Russian forces still struggling to respond to the Ukrainian surprise attack after nearly a week of fierce fighting.

Russia’s emergency services say more than 76,000 people have fled their homes in the Kursk region. Ukrainian troops and armored forces poured across the border into Kursk on August 6, sparking panic and reportedly reaching 30 kilometers (19 miles) into Russian territory.

Ukrainian troops quickly advanced into the town of Sudja, about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the border, following the attack. They reportedly still control the western part of the town, which houses a key gas terminal.

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Sasha Skochlenko and Sofia Subotina plan to get married. This would not have been possible in their native Russia, but now that they live in Germany, which recognizes same-sex marriage, it is possible.

“We don’t know how or in which city to hold it, but that’s the plan,” Skochlenko, 33, told The Associated Press as he looked fondly at a beaming Subbotina.

Earlier this month, Skochlenko and other Russian prisoners were reunited in Germany shortly after they were swapped in a historic East-West swap, bringing a happy, if unexpected, end to an ordeal that lasted more than two years.

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Ukraine has taken control of 74 settlements in Russia’s Kursk region and is continuing to advance, advancing between one and three kilometers in the past 24 hours. This is the largest cross-border offensive launched by Kiev so far in the war.

“Despite the hard and intense fighting, our troops are advancing in the Kursk region, and our country’s ‘exchange fund’ is growing. 74 settlements are under Ukrainian control,” Zelensky said.

In the video, the Ukrainian leader asked Supreme Commander Oleksandr Serski to work out the “key steps” for the next steps. Serski responded, “Everything is going according to plan,” but did not elaborate.

Ukraine caught Moscow off guard last week by sending thousands of troops to Russia’s western Kursk region, a surprise offensive that gave Ukraine its biggest battlefield gain since 2022 after months of disadvantage.

Kiev’s forces have also rounded up Russian prisoners of war that can be exchanged for captured Ukrainian fighters in what Zelensky calls a growing “exchange fund.”

Myhaylo Podolak, an adviser to the Ukrainian president, said Russia needed to be forced to attend the peace summit because it was not willing to do so.

Podolyak said on state television that one of the means of coercion was battlefield operations, referring to Ukraine’s unprecedented cross-border incursion into Russia’s Kursk region.

“Simply appealing to Russia will not work, only a range of coercive measures will work,” he said, also citing economic and diplomatic pressure.

He added that Ukraine’s actions in the Russian border region were aimed at addressing key issues of its own security.

“It’s the destruction of the war infrastructure and the creation of so-called sanitary zones so that Russia cannot use there … equipment deep into Ukrainian territory,” he said.

A week after the invasion began, Ukraine said it had taken control of 74 Russian settlements and was continuing to advance.

The United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said there was growing evidence that Monday’s fire at Ukraine’s Russian-controlled Zaporizhia nuclear power plant was not caused by the base of a cooling tower or by foreign objects.

“The evidence collected strengthens our conclusion that it is unlikely that the main fire occurred at the base of the cooling tower,” said IAEA chief Raffaello Mariano Grossi.

He said “foreign objects or substances could be seen” inside the damaged tower.

The IAEA said the plant’s Russian management told the agency that the tower might need to be removed.

Support the Colonel’s AssessmentOfficials who have served as advisers to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s government and in various other important positions said: Kursk The attack will not be a short invasion but will likely be expanded in scope in an effort to hold on to the captured territory.

He said thousands more troops, possibly several brigades, were on standby, “including some of the best and most experienced soldiers and brigades” ready to fight.

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U.S. President Joe Biden said Ukraine’s military incursion into Russia “presents a real dilemma for Vladimir Putin,” adding that U.S. officials were in close contact with Ukraine over the move.

Biden, answering questions from reporters after arriving in New Orleans, said he had been briefed on Ukraine’s actions every four to five hours over the past six to eight days.

“This puts Putin in a real dilemma,” he said in his first substantive comments on the action that appeared to catch the Russians off guard.

About 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers drove tanks and armored vehicles across the Russian border in the early hours of August 6. A U.S. official said Ukraine’s incursion into Kursk appeared to be aimed at forcing Russia to withdraw from Ukraine in order to defend Russian territory from cross-border attacks.

The White House said Ukraine had not informed Russia in advance of its incursion into the Kursk region, and Russian forces on Tuesday responded with missiles, drones and airstrikes against Ukrainian forces.

White House spokeswoman Karina Jean-Pierre told reporters aboard Air Force One that Washington was not involved in the operation.