Key events
Russia evacuates more people amid Ukrainian incursion
Good morning and welcome to our blog on the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Russia is evacuating more people from its border regions today, Reuters reported, as Ukraine’s incursion into the Kursk region continues.
Alexei Smirnov, Kursk’s acting governor, said that the Glushkov district was being evacuated. The district has a population of 20,000.
At least 200,000 people have so far been evacuated from the border regions, according to Russian data, Reuters noted.
Meanwhile, Russia’s defence ministry said today that its forces had shot down Ukrainian drones over the Belgorod region.
Sukhoi-34 bombers also targeted Ukrainian positions in the Kursk region, the Russian ministry said.
In other developments:
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Ukraine’s defence minister, Rustem Umerov, spoke with US counterpart, Lloyd Austin, about the battlefield situation and defence needs, his ministry said on Thursday. Umerov also thanked Austin for “continuous and comprehensive support since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Russia”, according to a statement on social media.
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Ukraine’s airforce said on Thursday that it shot down all 29 Russia-launched drones over eight Ukrainian regions during an overnight attack, which officials said caused only minor damage. Russia also launched three Kh-59 guided missiles during the attack, the airforce said in a statement.
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On Wednesday, Ukrainian troops said they took more than 100 Russian soldiers prisoner in Kursk. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said they would eventually be part of a prisoner of war swap.
