Russia launches anti-terrorism operation to stop the advance of Ukrainian troops

Moscow, Russia:

Moscow on Saturday launched an “anti-terrorist operation” in three border regions adjacent to Ukraine to halt Kiev’s biggest cross-border offensive in the two-and-a-half-year conflict.

Ukrainian units crossed the border into the Kursk region in western Russia on Tuesday morning in a shock attack and advanced several kilometers, according to independent analysts.

Russia mobilized additional troops and equipment, including tanks, rocket launchers and aviation units to halt the troop advance.

Russia’s national anti-terrorism committee said on Friday it was starting “anti-terrorist operations in the Belgorod, Bryansk and Kursk regions… in order to ensure the safety of citizens and suppress the threat of terrorist acts carried out by enemy sabotage.” groups.”

Under Russian law, security forces and the military are given broad emergency powers during “counterterrorism” operations.

Movement is restricted, vehicles can be impounded, telephone calls can be monitored, areas are declared off-limits zones, checkpoints are introduced and security is reinforced at key infrastructure locations.

The anti-terrorism committee said Ukraine had mounted an “unprecedented attempt to destabilize the situation in several regions of our country.”

It called the Ukraine incursion a “terrorist attack” and said Kiev troops had injured civilians and destroyed residential buildings.

Ukrainian leaders remained silent about the operation and the United States, Kiev’s closest ally, said it was not informed of the plans in advance.

But President Volodymyr Zelensky appeared to praise his troops’ early successes, saying earlier this week that Russia must “feel” the consequences of the large-scale offensive it has been waging against Ukraine since February 2022.

Russia’s Defense Ministry published images on Saturday of tank crews firing at Ukrainian positions in the Kursk region, as well as a night air strike, after saying on Friday that it had deployed even more units to the border region.

It also said it shot down 26 Ukrainian drones that attempted to attack the region overnight.

(Except the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)