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Russia calls Kursk incursion ‘insane’ as sixth district moves to evacuate 

Residents of Russia’s Kursk region being evacuated by Ministry of Emergency Situations staff. Photo: Kurskaya Oblast / Telegram

Another district of Russia’s southwestern Kursk region has announced that it is evacuating residents, as Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service described the continuing Ukrainian incursion into Russian territory as “insane” on Tuesday.

Bolshesoldatsky district head Vladimir Zaitsev implored residents “not to panic and to treat each other with respect” and pledged to do everything in his power to evacuate the civilian population. The district is the sixth district in the Kursk region to announce evacuation measures, but the first that doesn’t directly border Ukraine. 

Ukraine has also restricted entry for non-residents to any area of the Sumy region less than 20 km from the Russian border, citing increased hostilities and the number of Russian sabotage and reconnaissance groups active in the area. 

Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of “taking insane steps that threaten to escalate the situation far beyond the borders of Ukraine” as the AFU’s unprecedented advance into Russian territory entered its second week. 

Meanwhile, General Apti Alaudinov, who commands the Chechen Akhmat special forces, claimed with no evidence on Tuesday that the AFU incursion was being led by US generals. 

Zelensky said that Ukrainian troops were targeting areas from where Russia had launched attacks on Ukraine in the past and that it was “only fair to destroy Russian terrorists where they launch their strikes” in his nightly address to the nation on Monday. 

The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has requested the Kremlin grant it access to Russian military records to verify claims made by Russia’s Human Rights Commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova of civilian casualties in the Kursk region caused by the AFU incursion, Russian state-owned news agency RIA Novosti reported