Russia tightens security in Kursk region, as fight continues against Ukraine’s surprise incursion

Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia has announced increased security measures in the border region of Kursk. An incursion there this week by Ukrainian forces caught Russian troops off guard and exposed its military vulnerabilities in the nearly 2½–year-old war. The Russian Defense Ministry said Saturday that fighting was continuing in the Kursk region and that the army has conducted airstrikes against Ukrainian forces. The measures announced for Kursk and for the neighboring Belgorod and Bryansk regions that border Ukraine allow the government to relocate residents, control phone communications and requisition vehicles. About 76,000 residents of the area have been evacuated from the area, a Russian Emergencies Ministry spokesman said Saturday.