Moscow is sending more troops to the Kursk region, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, in order to counter Ukrainian infiltration into its territory.

The hostilities in the Russian region of Kursk, neighboring the Ukrainebetween Russian and Ukrainian troops have continued for a fourth day since Ukrainian forces invaded Russian territory on Tuesday. More than 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers, supported by tanks, helicopters and other means, are taking part in the surprise attack, according to the Russian general staff, which assures that everything is being done to push them back.

The Russian military says it “continues to repel” the Ukrainian cross-border incursion.

Reports indicate that Ukrainian troops are moving deeper than 10 kilometers inside it of Russiait is the deepest cross-border advance by Kiev since Moscow launched the invasion in February 2022.

A video released today on social media and verified by Reuters shows a phalanx of burnt Russian military trucks along a highway in the Kursk region.

About 15 trucks are seen in the video, including one bearing the Z-mark used by Russia as a symbol of its “special military operation” in Ukraine.

Reuters was able to identify the location as the village of Oktyabrskoye based on buildings, trees and the road, but was unable to pinpoint exactly when the video was taken.

The Russian Defense Ministry says Ukraine has lost more than 280 servicemen in the past 24 hours – a claim that has not been verified.

Friday mornings Ukraine launched a massive drone strike on a military air base inside Russian territory in Lipetskfar from the border with Ukraine, destroying remote-controlled bombs.

The regional governor declared a state of emergency in the municipality of the regional capital of the same name, while ordering the immediate evacuation of the residents of four villages “for their safety”.

The city of Lipetsk is located approximately 200 kilometers in a straight line from the border of Russia with Ukraine.

Another Ukrainian drone raid was reported in the Belgorod region, which neighbors Ukraine. Russian air defense shot down 29 drones.

In Sevastopol, on the Crimean peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014, Governor Mikhail Razvazaev spoke of Ukrainian air and naval drone attacks.

Volodymyr Zelensky, avoiding explicitly confirming the operation or clarifying its purpose, commented that Russia had to “feel” the war.

Ten dead from a Russian strike

At the same time, Russian artillery today hit a supermarket in the Ukrainian city of Kostiantynivka, in the Donetsk region, killing ten people, according to the Ukrainian Interior Ministry, and injuring 35.

In a message on the Telegram platform, Interior Minister Igor Klimenko clarified that the attack caused a fire at the supermarket, which was brought under control by firefighters, while damage was also caused to residential buildings in this city, located approximately 12 kilometers away. from the front.

“There are people under the debris. A rescue operation is underway, and we will do everything to save them,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote in X.

Photos from the scene of the attack, posted by regional governor Vadim Filashkin on the Telegram platform, show thick black smoke rising from the damaged building.

“The attack on the supermarket in Kostiantynivka is another act of Russian terrorism. War against civilians is all they know,” Ukrainian presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak wrote to X.

Moscow’s forces control large areas of the Donetsk region. Its Ukrainian-held areas are regularly bombarded by Russian artillery and air force.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian police today called for the evacuation of “about 20,000 people” from the Sumy region, which lies in northern Ukraine and borders Russia’s Kursk region, the target of an incursion by Kiev forces.

In Telegram, the police clarified that the evacuation of people is necessary from 28 locations due to “enemy fire” in these zones, while they assured that rescuers and local services are participating in the operations.