MOSCOW: Ukrainian forces attacked a power substation in Russia鈥檚 western Kursk region, the regional governor said early on Tuesday after Russian war bloggers reported a new Ukrainian land-based incursion into the area backed by armored vehicles.
Officials on both sides of the border reported deaths from military activity and ordered evacuations of several settlements.
Kursk Governor Alexander Khinshtein鈥檚 report, posted on the Telegram messaging app, said Ukrainian forces had struck the substation in the town of Rylsk, about 50 km (30 miles) from the border, injuring two teenagers. Two transformers were damaged and power cut to the area.
鈥淒ear residents, the enemy, in its agony, is continuing to launch strikes against our territory,鈥� Khinshtein wrote.
Ukraine made a surprise incursion into Kursk in August 2024, hoping to shift the momentum in Russia鈥檚 full-scale invasion and draw Russian forces away from other sectors of the front in eastern Ukraine.
Russia鈥檚 top general said last month that Ukrainian troops had been ejected from Kursk, ending the biggest incursion into Russian territory since World War Two, and that Russia was carving out a buffer zone in the Ukrainian region of Sumy.
Kyiv has not acknowledged that its troops were forced out. President Volodymyr Zelensky says Kyiv鈥檚 forces continue to operate in Kursk and in the adjacent Russian region of Belgorod.
Russian bloggers had earlier reported that Ukrainian forces firing missiles had smashed through the border, crossing minefields with special vehicles.
鈥淭he enemy blew up bridges with rockets at night and launched an attack with armored groups in the morning,鈥� Russian war blogger 鈥淩Vvoenkor鈥� said on Telegram.
鈥淭he mine clearance vehicles began to make passages in the minefields, followed by armored vehicles with troops. There is a heavy battle going on at the border.鈥�
Popular Russian military blog Rybar said Ukrainian units were trying to advance near two settlements in Kursk region over the border 鈥� Tyotkino and Glushkovo.
The head of Glushkovo district, Pavel Zolotaryov, wrote on Telegram that residents of several localities were being evacuated to safer areas.
Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, with Moscow calling it a special military operation.

DRONE ATTACKS INCREASE

鈥淥ver the past 24 hours, there has been an increase in attacks by enemy drones,鈥� Zolotaryov wrote. 鈥淭here have been instances of people being killed or wounded, of houses and sites of civil infrastructure being destroyed.鈥�
The Ukrainian incursion into Kursk was reported by other Russian bloggers, including 鈥渢he archangel of special forces鈥� and Russian state television war correspondent Alexander Sladkov.
Ukrainian officials did not comment on any advances.
But Ukraine鈥檚 Prosecutor鈥檚 Office said Russian forces had subjected two settlements in the border Sumy region 鈥� Bilopillya and Vorozhba 鈥� to artillery fire and guided bomb attacks, killing three residents and injuring four.
Earlier, local authorities in Sumy region had urged residents to evacuate their homes in the area, about 10 km (six miles) across the border from Tyotkino in Kursk region.
The Ukrainian military said on Monday that its forces struck a Russian drone command unit near Tyotkino on Sunday.