Ukraine updates: Kursk governor calls for quicker evacuation
Published August 11, 2024last updated August 11, 2024
What you need to know
The acting governor of Kursk oblast, Alexei Smirnov, said on Telegram on Saturday night that he had told local authorities to accelerate efforts to move civilians from areas at risk of fighting with Ukrainian troops.
Russian media quoted the regional Emergencies Ministry in the border region of Kursk as saying that more than 76,000 people have been relocated to safer areas in recent days since the surprise Ukrainian incursion.
Ukrainian forces opened up a new front in Russian oblast bordering northeastern Ukraine in recent days, seemingly vying for a foothold, or at least a disruptive presence, in Russian territory. Kursk has since declared a state of emergency.
Elsewhere, Kyiv's Mayor Vitali Klitschko warned online of an air raid alert overnight in the capital and said air defenses were in operation. It wasn't immediately clear if any damage was caused.
Here is the latest on Russia's invasion of Ukraine from Sunday, August 11:
Missile attacks kill father and son near Kyiv: Emergency service
An overnight Russian missile attack near the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, has killed a 35-year-old man and his 4-year-old son, Ukraine's emergency service has said.
The bodies of the two were found among rubble by rescue teams after fragments of a missile hit residential buildings in the district of Brovary next to Kyiv, a Telegram posting said.
Three other people, including a 13-year-old child, were seriously injured, the emergency service said.
The attack comes as fears rise in Ukraine that Moscow might retaliate with increased air raids for Kyiv's ongoing incursion into the Russian Kursk region.
Kursk regional governor Alexei Smirnov said 13 people had been injured in Kursk city, two of them seriously, when debris from a downed Ukrainian missile fell on a building during the night.
Kursk governor calls for accelerated evacuation
The acting governor of Kursk oblast in Russia, Alexei Smirnov, said on Saturday night that he had "instructed" the head of the Belovsky district of the region — in southwestern Kursk, near the border to the Sumy region of Ukraine — to "speed up" the implementation of orders to evacuate civilians.
Russian authorities have been scrambling to relocate people this week amid a surprise Ukrainian incursion into parts of Kursk. Russia's government has also been keen to describe the incursion as an escalation.
Although Ukrainian forces are not thought to control any of the territory, they appear to have established a disruptive presence that stretches quite far into the area, at least based on what analysts can observe via satellite.
Russian media, including the state-owned TASS news agency, on Saturday quoted the region's emergency situations ministry as saying that "more than 76,000 people" had been "temporarily relocated to safe places."
Russia also said on Friday that it was sending additional military equipment and personnel to the area over the weekend.
Air defense systems in Kyiv active overnight
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko and military administration officials said early on Sunday that air defenses were operating in Ukraine's capital overnight.
"Air defense units operating, air raid alert continues," Klitschko wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
Witnesses in Kyiv said they heard explosions, though these sounds could have been air defense systems at work rather than hits.
It was not immediately clear if the attack had caused any damage or injuries.
The head of Kyiv's military administration, Serhiy Popko, said the capital was still threatened by Russian ballistic missiles.
Ukraine's air force said Kyiv, the surrounding region and all of eastern Ukraine were subject to air raid alerts.
msh/sms (AP, AFP, Reuters, DPA)