Ukraine war: Moscow threatens Kiev after attack in Kursk

After new Ukrainian attacks on the Russian border region of Kursk, Moscow is threatening consequences. “A tough reaction from the Russian armed forces will not be long in coming,” said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Sunday in the online service Telegram. She announced that the people who commissioned and committed the “crimes” in Kursk would be brought to justice.

Ukrainian units advanced into the border region of Kursk in western Russia on Tuesday. According to Russian authorities, 13 people were injured in a Ukrainian air strike in the regional capital of Kursk on Sunday night.

Ukraine is trying to “shift” the war onto Russian territory, said President Volodymyr Zelensky in his daily address. Kyiv says its move is aimed at “destabilizing” Russia.

Offensive motivates Ukrainian troops

“We are on the offensive,” a Ukrainian security official told the AFP news agency. “Thousands” of Ukrainian soldiers are involved. “The aim is to disperse the enemy’s positions, inflict maximum losses and destabilize the situation in Russia.”

The spokesman for the authorities, however, reiterated that Ukraine “strictly respects human rights” in its actions in Russia. “It is very important that Ukraine does not violate any conventions. We do not execute prisoners, we do not rape women, we do not loot,” he said. “Bucha, Irpin, none of this exists and will not exist,” he said, referring to battlefields in Ukraine where, according to Kiev, Russian troops committed war crimes.

The operation has improved morale in the Ukrainian army, within the government and among the people. “This operation has shown us that we can also attack and move forward,” he said.

Moscow: Ukrainian advance stopped

The Defense Ministry in Moscow announced on Sunday that the Russian army had stopped the advance of Ukrainian troops in several places. Enemy soldiers and equipment were attacked in some cases 30 kilometers from the border.

Attempts by mobile Ukrainian units to penetrate deep into Russian territory with armoured vehicles have been thwarted. This applies, for example, to the towns of Tolpino and Obshchy Kolodes, which are between 25 and 30 kilometres from the border.

Belarus moves tanks to the border with Ukraine

At the same time, the Belarusian Ministry of Defense announced that it would move tanks to the Ukrainian border. The background to this is the alleged shooting down of several Ukrainian combat drones in the airspace there. The ministry published a video on the Telegram news channel showing the loading of tanks onto a rail transport. The units were put on standby to carry out orders.

Previously, ruler Alexander Lukashenko had ordered the reinforcement of troops in the Gomel and Mozyr areas in the southeast of the country. They were to react to possible provocations from the Ukrainian side.

Lukashenko: Air defence in full readiness

On Saturday, Lukashenko reported on the alleged shooting down of several Ukrainian aircraft targets. The air defense system was put on full alert because around ten aircraft from Ukraine had entered Belarus’ airspace in the east of the country in the Kostjukovitchy region.

The Foreign Ministry said this was a “dangerous attempt to expand the current conflict zone in our region.” Belarus (formerly Belarus) would use its right to self-defense and respond appropriately to any provocation or hostile action, it said. Defense Minister Viktor Chrenin announced on Saturday that the deployment of Iskander ballistic missiles and Polones rocket launchers to the region had also been ordered.

Belarus supports Russia in its war of aggression against Ukraine. At the beginning of the war almost two and a half years ago, the country made its territory available to Russian troops so that they could invade northern Ukraine from there.