Belgorod Region Evacuates 14,000 Amid Intensifying Ukrainian Incursion

On August 12, Russia’s Belgorod region announced the evacuation of residents amid increasing tensions due to a large-scale ground offensive by Ukrainian forces, now entering its seventh day. This makes Belgorod the second region to take such measures in light of the escalating conflict.

Governor Viacheslav Gladkov shared a video on social media, highlighting that approximately 14,000 residents from the Krasnoyaruzhsky District, which borders Ukraine, would be evacuated. This decision was prompted by “alarming” military movements observed on the Ukrainian side of the border.

“For the safety of our population, we’re beginning the process of relocating residents from Krasnoyaruzhsky to safer areas,” Gladkov stated. He characterized the evacuation as a precautionary measure, assuring that he had confidence in the Russian military’s ability to counter the perceived threat.

Transport services have been organized to assist in the relocation efforts. The Krasnoyaruzhsky District is located approximately 38 miles southeast of Sudzha in the Kursk region, where the Ukrainian military incursions have been reported since Tuesday. The district’s capital, Krasnaya Yaruga, lies just 10.5 miles from the Kolotilovka village, which is directly across the border from Ukraine.

Russian military bloggers reported that a Ukrainian army unit conducted an attack on Kolotilovka on Sunday. Gladkov had advised local villagers to evacuate on Friday, ahead of these military operations.

Previously, the border checkpoint between Kolotilovka and the Ukrainian village of Pokrovka served as the only humanitarian corridor along the Russian-Ukrainian border. However, this corridor was temporarily suspended for ten days, as announced by Iryna Vereshchuk, the Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories, on Wednesday.

To the north, in the Kursk region, local officials are also urging residents near the Ukrainian border to evacuate. Nikolay Volobuev, the head of the Belovsky district, reported a “very tense” situation in his district due to the incursion, prioritizing resident safety and directing them to designated pick-up points for bus evacuation.

This latest wave of evacuations comes just four days after Kursk’s Governor, Alexey Smirnov, ordered the evacuation of thousands of residents from areas surrounding the original point of incursion. Temporary centers have been established to accommodate those displaced, increasing the total number of people urged to flee to at least 90,000.

In response to the Ukrainian military’s activities, Russia’s Defense Ministry confirmed incursions occurred in two districts of the Kursk region. They claimed to have thwarted attempts by Ukrainian forces to penetrate further into Russian territory by utilizing reinforcements and conducting airstrikes against enemy positions.

The ministry detailed, “Over the last 24 hours, actions by Battlegroup North units, along with incoming reserves, aerial strikes from army aviation and drones, as well as artillery fire, have successfully blocked attempts by enemy mobile groups trying to advance into Russian territory using armored vehicles.” Reports from state-run TASS indicated that the measures were effective in preventing deeper incursions.

Additionally, the ministry reported that Ukraine had suffered significant losses — claiming 230 troops and 38 armored vehicles, including three U.S.-made Stryker armored fighting vehicles, between Saturday and Sunday alone. Since the start of the offensive on August 6, Russia claimed Ukraine had lost a total of 1,350 soldiers and 29 tanks.

Furthermore, Russian Mi-28NM helicopters were allegedly deployed to target Ukrainian troop positions as well as their armored and motorized equipment, using unguided air-to-ground missiles. The Defense Ministry asserted that reconnaissance efforts confirmed the successful destruction of all targeted positions in Ukraine.