Russia battles major cross-border incursion from Ukraine for a second day,

and is the most serious attack on Russian territory by Kyiv’s forces in months

that prompted both countries to evacuate several thousand civilians.

A local state of emergency was introduced in Russia’s Kursk region said, 36

hours after Ukrainian soldiers, tanks and armoured vehicles stormed into the

western border region, Russia said, it launched air and artillery firepower to

repel the attack throughout Wednesday, after having rushed reinforcements

to the region in a bid to halt Ukrainian advances.

After two days of fighting, the extent of the damage and the depth of the

Ukrainian advance was unclear though several reports from Ukrainian and

Russian military bloggers suggested the fighters had gained several

kilometres, President Vladimir Putin said, Ukraine had indiscriminately

attacked civilian buildings and ambulances while Russia’s top general vowed

to crush the incursion.

Kursk governor Alexei Smirnov introduced a state of emergency in the

region, a move that gives authorities additional powers to bring the situation

under control, while, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby

said, Washington was “reaching out to our Ukrainian counterparts to get a

little better understanding”.

Russia’s National Guard said it was strengthening defences at the Kursk

nuclear power station, some 60 kilometres from the border with Ukraine,

while, the Chief of Russia’s General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, said up to 1,000

combatants from Ukraine had been involved in the offensive, and that

Russian forces had stopped them penetrating deeper into the Kursk region.