Russia-Ukraine conflict intensifies amid Ukraine's fresh offensive on Russian border

Moscow, Aug 13 (IANS) Russia has been grappling with expelling Ukrainian armies from its territory as tens of thousands of Russian residents in the border regions have been evacuated following a fresh Ukrainian offensive.

Ukrainian forces crossed the Russian border last Tuesday and broke into parts of Russia's Kursk region. Currently, the Ukrainian military holds 28 settlements in the area, according to Alexei Smirnov, the region's acting governor.

Twelve civilians have died, and another 121 have been injured following Ukraine's attack on the Kursk region, Russian authorities said.

Russia's border region of Belgorod has also begun relocating its residents in the Krasnoyaruzhsky district to safer places amid increased military activity near the Ukrainian border.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday confirmed that Ukraine is carrying out an "operation" in the region, adding that Kiev's assault into Kursk was a matter of security for Ukraine and that Kiev had captured areas from where Russia had launched strikes.

Ukraine's attack on the Russian border will receive a "worthy response," Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday at a meeting on the situation in the border regions, adding that the Russian military's main task is to knock the Ukrainian forces out of Russian territories.

The Ukrainian army will continue to try to destabilise the situation in the border zone to disrupt Russia internally, said Putin, Xinhua news agency reported.

Kiev, by its actions in the Kursk region, is also trying to improve its negotiating position in the future, he said, while questioning the possibility of such talks when Ukraine indiscriminately strikes at Russian civilians and nuclear facilities.

Ukraine and Russia have also exchanged blame for the outbreak of fire at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which remains under Russian control. The fire has since been put out but damaged a cooling tower.

Putin said the situation in the Kursk region shows why Kiev has rejected Moscow and the mediators' peace proposals.

Meanwhile, Zelensky said that Russia must be forced to make peace "if Putin wants to fight so badly."

Putin stated that Russia's offensive pace increased rather than decreased following the events in Kursk.

He noted that the losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are dramatically increasing, including among the most combat-ready units and subunits that Ukraine is transferring to the Russian border.

Since the start of hostilities in the Kursk region, Ukraine lost up to 1,610 service members and 32 tanks in the Kursk direction, the Russian defense ministry said Monday.

Oleksandr Syrsky, the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, said Monday that Ukrainian forces control about 1,000 square km of Russian territory.

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