Putin comments on Kursk Region incursion attempt

Ukraine has conducted its latest large-scale provocation against Russia by launching an attempted incursion into Kursk Region, President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday.

Ukrainian forces “are conducting indiscriminate fire from various types of weapons, including rocket weapons, at civilian buildings, homes, ambulances,” Putin said at a government meeting.

The president said he is regularly briefed on the situation by the Defense Ministry and other relevant governmental departments. He is also in touch with acting Governor Aleksey Smirnov and has pledged additional support for the Kursk Region administration to help it deal with the emergency.

Earlier in the day, the governor said that Moscow has dispatched a team of skilled medics to help his region’s healthcare system tackle the surge in injuries caused by Ukrainian fire. Kursk emergency services will also be bolstered by additional hardware necessary to address the damage.

More than 2,000 people have fled the border areas, some with the assistance of rescuers, since the crisis broke out on Tuesday morning, Smirnov said. Authorities have provided emergency shelters for those who need them, while neighboring regions also offered their help to the refugees.

The Defense Ministry has claimed that Russian troops had inflicted serious damage on the Ukrainian forces deployed for the attempted cross-border operation. The military says Kiev has failed to achieve its goal of securing a foothold in the Russian region, losing hundreds of fighters and dozens of pieces of heavy weaponry in the process.