Russia has imposed “anti-terrorist” measures in the western Kursk region and nearby Bryansk and Belgorod regions.
Ukrainian authorities say Ukraine is bracing for further Russian aggression in retaliation for the border incursion in the Kursk region, as Russia sends reinforcements including troops, additional tanks, artillery and rocket systems.
Russia introduced “anti-terrorism measures” in three regions bordering Ukraine on Saturday, Russian news agencies reported, citing officials.
According to RIA news agency, measures taken by the National Anti-Terrorist Committees in Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk included the evacuation of residents, restrictions on traffic in certain areas, increased security around sensitive facilities, and wiretapping of telephones and other communications.
The decision, made by Federal Security Service (FSB) chief Alexander Botnikov, was a response to “unprecedented attempts to destabilize the situation in a number of regions” of Ukraine, according to a statement.
Ukraine launched a surprise offensive on Kursk on Tuesday, the most significant cross-border attack since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
As Ukraine’s advance on Kursk appears to have caught Russia off guard, the Russian Defense Ministry said it was deploying more troops and supplies to the border area near Kursk ahead of a possible counteroffensive.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has described the invasion as a “large-scale provocation” by Ukraine, and Army Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov has pledged to crush it.
Russian authorities have already declared a “federal” state of emergency in Kursk.
Ukrainian officials said Friday that a Russian missile struck a supermarket in the Ukrainian town of Kostyatynivka, on the frontline of the Donetsk region, killing at least 14 people and wounding 43 others.
“Russian terrorists attacked an ordinary supermarket and a post office. There are people under the rubble,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said on X.
Kostyanovka is about 13 km (8 miles) from the combat zone in eastern Ukraine.
Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin told X that “no situation on the battlefield can justify targeting civilians,” while regional governor Vadim Pilashkin said Kh-38 air-to-surface missiles were used in the attack.
There was no immediate comment from Russia, which denies allegations it deliberately targeted civilians.
Meanwhile, in the Sumy region of northern Ukraine, volunteers were scrambling to evacuate dozens of residents and their pets in preparation for further Russian attacks.
Sumy Governor Volodymyr Artiukh ordered the evacuation of 28 villages within a 10-kilometer (6-mile) area along the border. State police said Friday that 20,000 people would have to leave.
