The blog is now closed.
The blog is now closed.
- Alexei Smirnov, the governor of Russia’s Kursk region, tells President Vladimir Putin that six days of a Ukrainian ground attack on his region has resulted in the loss of 28 settlements, 12 civilian deaths and the displacement of 121,000 people.
- Putin promises “a worthy response” to the Ukrainian offensive, which he says is aimed at destabilising Russia.
- A new evacuation order has been issued in the neighbouring Belgorod region as its Krasnaya Yaruga district fears an incursion by Ukrainian forces, according to Vyacheslav Gladkov, the regional governor.
- In Kursk’s Belovsky district, residents have been urged to leave as the head of the area, Nikolai Volobuyev, warns of a “very tense situation”.