MOSCOW: Russia ordered the evacuation of villages close to the Ukrainian border in the Kursk region, the local governor said Monday, as Moscow ramped up efforts to regain control of land seized in Kyiv’s incursion. The reason for the border evacuations was unclear, but came days after Moscow began what appeared to be a major counter-offensive aimed at driving Ukraine out of the border territory.

Authorities have decided to order the “obligatory evacuation of settlements in the Rylsky and Khomutovsky districts that are within a 15-kilometre (nine-mile) zone adjacent to the border with Ukraine,” Kursk region governor Alexei Smirnov said on Telegram. There are dozens of villages and towns within this 15-kilometre radius.

The regional administration urged those fleeing to take their belongings with them and “take care of pets” amid reports residents in previous evacuations had left their animals behind. More than 150,000 people in the region have fled their homes since Ukraine launched its offensive on August 6, advancing across tens of kilometers of Russian territory and seizing dozens of settlements.

The attack — which began more than two years after Russia launched a full-scale military assault on Ukraine — caught the Kremlin off-guard and was only halted after Moscow scrambled reinforcements to the area. The Russian army said on Monday it had taken back the “settlements of Uspenovka and Borki” during counter-offensive operations, four days after announcing it had regained ten other villages.

‘Pure provocation’

Ukraine had hoped its major cross-border incursion into the Kursk region would slow down Russia’s advances in the east, where Moscow has made a string of gains in recent weeks. But on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky conceded that while Moscow had been slowed down somewhat, the situation on the eastern front was “very difficult”.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier this month his army’s target of capturing the Donbas — which includes the east Ukrainian regions of Lugansk and Donetsk — was a priority. Russia’s announcement came as Kyiv urged the United Nations and International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to visit the parts of the Kursk region it controls.

Ukraine has sought to paint its army in a different light to the Russian forces that currently occupy around 20 percent of its territory. “I instructed the Ukrainian foreign ministry to officially invite the UN and ICRC to join humanitarian efforts in the Kursk region,” Kyiv’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said on social media. “Ukraine is ready to facilitate their work and prove its adherence to international humanitarian law,” he added. Russia, which is currently hosting ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric, pushed back at Ukraine’s proposal. “This is a pure provocation. And we expect a sober assessment of such provocative statements,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. — AFP