Moscow on Saturday launched an “anti-terrorist operation” in three border regions bordering Ukraine to stop Kiev’s biggest cross-border offensive in the two-and-a-half-year conflict.
Ukrainian units stormed across the border into Russia’s western Kursk region on Tuesday morning in a shock attack and have advanced several kilometers, independent analysts said.
Russia has deployed additional troops and equipment, including tanks, missile launchers and aviation units to stop the advancing troops.
Russia’s national anti-terrorist committee announced late Friday that it was launching “anti-terrorist operations in the Belgorod, Bryansk and Kursk regions… in order to ensure the safety of citizens and suppress the threat of terrorist acts carried out by enemy sabotage groups.”
Under Russian law, security forces and the military have sweeping emergency powers during “anti-terrorist” operations.
Movement is restricted, vehicles can be impounded, telephone calls can be monitored, areas are declared no-go zones, checkpoints are introduced and security is increased at key infrastructure sites.
The counter-terrorism committee said Ukraine had made an “unprecedented attempt to destabilize the situation in some regions of our country.”
He called Ukraine’s invasion a “terrorist attack” and said Kiev troops injured civilians and destroyed residential buildings.
Ukrainian leaders remained tight-lipped about the operation and the United States, Kiev’s closest ally, said it had not been informed of the plans in advance.
But President Volodymyr Zelensky appeared to tout the early successes of his troops, saying earlier this week that Russia must “feel” the consequences of the large-scale offensive it has launched against Ukraine since February 2022.
Russia’s defense ministry on Saturday released footage of tank crews firing on Ukrainian positions in the Kursk region, as well as an overnight airstrike, after it said on Friday it had deployed even more units to the border region.
It also said it shot down 26 Ukrainian drones that tried to attack the area overnight.
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