The Ukrainian incursion prompted Russian President Vladimir Putin to hold urgent meetings on Wednesday with his government and defense leadership, while local authorities said thousands of Russian civilians were being evacuated away from the fighting.
The Russian Telegram account VChK-OGPU, that is linked to the Wagner mercenary group, on Wednesday claimed a column of Ukrainian troops had passed through the village of Lyubimovka, roughly 6 miles inside the border and that they appeared to be moving towards another village Korenovo.
Ukrainian troops also reportedly entered the border town of Sudzha, according to Russian military blog accounts and videos circulating online geolocated by ABC News. Sudzha is home to a key pipeline hub for supplying gas to Europe. Another prominent military blog account close to Russia’s defense ministry, Rybar, reported the situation for Russian forces had continued to deteriorate Wednesday and that earlier Ukrainian troops had entered at least 11 settlements since Tuesday, though not seizing most.
Russia’s defense ministry initially claimed to have rebuffed the Ukrainian attack and forced them to retreat. The head of Russia’s General Staff, Gen. Valeriy Gerasimov, on Wednesday briefed Putin that more than 1,000 Ukrainian troops had crossed the border and claimed that hundreds had been killed and wounded. But it was clear on Wednesday that intense fighting was continuing, as Russian officials announced further evacuations of civilians from the region. At least 31 civilians have been injured by shelling, according to local officials in Kursk.
