Russia in ‘counter-terrorism’ mode after Ukraine attack

Russia has imposed an “anti-terrorist operation” regime in three regions to try to prevent a surprise cross-border incursion by Ukrainian troops.

Authorities in the regions of Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk, on the border with Ukraine, can now restrict the movement of people and vehicles and use telephone tapping, among other measures.

This comes at a time when the Ukrainian offensive in the Kursk region is now in its fifth day. Kyiv has not openly admitted to the incursion.

Reports say Ukrainian troops are threatening to seize a regional city while fighting more than 10 km (six miles) inside Russia – the deepest advance since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The new security measures in the three Russian border regions were announced by the National Counter-Terrorism Committee (Nak) on Friday.

It stated that this was done “to ensure the safety of citizens and suppress the threat of terrorist acts by enemy sabotage and reconnaissance units.”

Authorities now have powers to enter private residences, restrict the movement of traffic and pedestrians, order the temporary relocation of people and monitor information sent electronically.

This comes at a time when Moscow is struggling to contain the Ukrainian offensive.

Russia said up to 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers, supported by tanks and armored vehicles, entered the Kursk region on Tuesday morning.

Since then, the Ukrainians have reportedly taken over several villages and are also threatening the regional city of Sudzha.

On Friday, a video emerged that allegedly showed armed Ukrainian soldiers who claimed to have control over the city, as well as a major Russian gas facility owned by the company Gazprom.

BBC Verify has now confirmed that the footage was indeed from the Gazprom facility on the north-western outskirts of Sudzha, around 7km from the Ukrainian border. The video alone does not confirm the claim that Ukrainian troops took over the entire city.

Russian military bloggers previously claimed the city was in Moscow’s hands.

BBC Verify previously verified and confirmed the location of another video posted online on Friday morning. The image shows a Russian convoy of 15 vehicles damaged, burned and abandoned on a road through the city of Oktyabrskoe, about 38 kilometers from the border on the Russian side.

The footage also shows Russian soldiers, some injured, possibly dead among the vehicles.

Since then, Moscow has sent reinforcements – including tanks and rocket launch systems – to the Kursk region.

In its latest report, released on Saturday morning, the Russian Defense Ministry said its troops “continued to repel the invasion attempt” by Ukrainian forces.

It claimed that Ukraine’s attempts to “encroach deep into Russian territory” had been thwarted.

The Russian allegations have not been independently verified.

On Friday, the UN nuclear agency urged Russia and Ukraine to “exercise maximum restraint” as fighting approached the Kursk nuclear power plant – one of the largest facilities of its kind in Russia.

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, said that measures must be taken “to avoid a nuclear accident with the potential for serious radiological consequences”.

The plant is located about 60 km northeast of Sudzha.