The mayor of Kurchatov, a Russian city near the Ukrainian border, said Ukrainian forces had launched a stunning incursion into the country and were advancing on a nuclear power plant on Friday. The Washington Post.
The news comes as civilians continue to flee the Kursk region amid fears of further fighting on Russian soil. Army commanders have scrambled to send reinforcements from across the country to the Kursk region, where fighting is concentrated.
On Monday, Ukrainian forces launched an offensive in the Kursk region on Ukraine’s northeastern border with Russia, seizing 20 Russian villages and parts of the city of Chudza. The Washington Post reported. Azerbaijan outlet Vesti.az reported on Friday The mayor of the city of Kurchatov, Igor Gorbunkov, said in a statement on Telegram that “the fighting is several dozen kilometers away” from the nuclear plant.
“The situation is tense and a state of emergency is in effect. However, all services and institutions, including city administration, are functioning as usual. I am personally monitoring the situation in the city, at my workplace,” Gorbunkov added.
International Atomic Energy Agency a Report to Russian state media organization TASSThe IAEA said on Friday it was “following reports on recent developments and that communication channels are open to both sides of the conflict. At this point there is no reason to worry about nuclear safety and security.
“IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Croci reiterates that all nuclear power plants, wherever they are located, must never be the target of armed attack,” the agency added.
The Institute for War Studies Ukrainian forces had penetrated 35 kilometers (22 miles) deep into Russian territory, it announced Thursday. Russian officials declared a federal state of emergency in Kursk on Friday night as Ukrainian forces continued to advance and knocked out an entire Russian reinforcement vehicle on the E38 highway. Guardian.
Unconfirmed reports from a Ukrainian outlet as of late Friday OBOZ.UA A Ukrainian drone struck the plant’s substation, knocking out power in Kurchatov.
Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh He told reporters during a press conference on Thursday Ukraine’s advance into Russia is “subject to US policy,” referring to Ukraine’s use of US-supplied weapons on Russian territory.
As the development continued, Russian military commander Valery Gerasimov was absent from an emergency session of the Russian Security Council convened by the Russian president. Vladimir Putin Friday, according to Newsweek.
