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Ukraine strikes power station amid reports that Kyiv is attacking Kursk in Russia

The regional governor of Kursk said that Kyiv forces had attacked a substation in the western region of Russia, Kursk, on Tuesday. This came after Russian war bloggers claimed that a new Ukrainian invasion into the area was backed up by armoured vehicles, drones, and other land-based weapons.

Alexander Khinshtein, the governor of Kursk, said that power had not yet been restored to Rylsk. The town has a population of 15,000 and is located about 50 kilometers (30 miles) away from the Ukrainian border. Ukrainian forces damaged two transformers at the substation late Monday night, injuring two teens.

Khinshtein, on Telegram, said: "Dear Residents, the enemy continues to strike our territory in its pain."

The administration of the Kursk Region said early Tuesday that authorities were evacuating local residents as drone attacks from Ukraine became "more common" in the last day.

Russian war bloggers claimed that Ukrainian forces had attacked the Kursk area on Monday. They fired missiles and used special vehicles to cross minefields and smash through the border.

On Monday, Russian war blogger RVvoenkor said that the enemy had blown up bridges using rockets in the night and then launched an assault with armoured units in morning.

"The mine clearing vehicles started to make their way through the minefields. They were followed by armored vehicles and troops. "There is a heavy fight going on at border."

The popular Russian military blog Rybar reported on Tuesday that the Ukrainian advance near the settlement of Tyotkino, in the Kursk region across the border failed.

In August 2024, Ukraine launched a surprise attack on Kursk to change the momentum after the Kremlin gained control of the situation following the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022.

Kyiv hoped that its position in Kursk could draw Russian troops from other parts Ukraine, giving it a bargaining tool with Moscow.

Last month, Russia's top military official said that Ukrainian troops were ejected out of Kursk. This marked the end of the largest incursion on Russian territory since World War Two. Russia also announced that it was creating a buffer zone around the Ukrainian region Sumy.

Kyiv denies that its troops have been forced to leave. Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the President of Ukraine, said that Kyiv continues to maintain forces in Kursk as well as in the nearby Russian region Belgorod.

Pavel Zolotaryov wrote on Telegram, the head of Glushkovo District in Kursk, near the border of Ukraine, that residents were being evacuated from several localities to safer areas.

Zolotaryov wrote: "Over the last 24 hours there has been a rise in drone attacks from enemy forces." There have been cases of people being injured or killed, and of homes and civil infrastructure sites being destroyed.

Zolotaryov failed to provide any evidence or additional details about the casualties. Could not independently verify report.

Ukrainian officials did comment on any progress made on Monday, but prosecutors reported that Russian shelling and guided-bomb attacks on border villages in Sumy Region killed and injured at least three people during the day.

In its daily update, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces only said that on Tuesday, fighting continued along the Kursk segment of the frontline with Kyiv troops repelling 18 enemy assaults there.

Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a ceasefire lasting three days between May 8-10 in honor of the 80th anniversary since the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany during World War II.

Zelenskiy has said that such a move is ineffective and instead called for a ceasefire unconditionally lasting at least 30 consecutive days, in line with the U.S. proposal made in March. Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; editing by William Maclean. Toby Chopra. Cynthia Osterman. Lincoln Feast.

(source: Reuters)