Thousands evacuated as Russia battles major Ukrainian border incursion

Russia on Wednesday battled a major cross-border incursion from Ukraine for a second day, the most serious attack on Russian territory by Kyiv’s forces in months that prompted both countries to evacuate several thousand civilians.

A local state of emergency was introduced in Russia’s Kursk region on Wednesday evening, 36 hours after Ukrainian soldiers, tanks and armoured vehicles stormed into the western border region.

Russia said it launched air and artillery firepower to repel the attack throughout Wednesday, after having rushed reinforcements to the region in a bid to halt Ukrainian advances.

After two days of fighting, the extent of the damage and the depth of the Ukrainian advance was unclear — though several reports from Ukrainian and Russian military bloggers suggested the fighters had gained several kilometres.