Russian authorities have declared an emergency in the Belgorod region, which borders Kursk, according to the Ministry of Emergency Situations.

The head of the ministry, Alexander Kurenkov, said on Thursday: "The situation in the region remains complex and tense. As a result of terrorist attacks by Ukrainian armed groups in the Belgorod region, residential houses and infrastructure facilities have been damaged, there are dead and injured citizens."

It comes as Russia began evacuating thousands of people from border regions as Ukraine advances deeper into enemy territory amid the ongoing cross-border incursion in Kursk.

People affected by the cross-border attack of Ukrainian armed forces on Russia's Kursk region at a temporary shelter in Kursk, Russia. Russia has begun evacuations. People affected by the cross-border attack of Ukrainian armed forces on Russia's Kursk region at a temporary shelter in Kursk, Russia. Russia has begun evacuations. Ilya Pitalev/SPTNK

Authorities in Kursk have ordered the evacuation of the population of its Glushkov district, around 20,000 people, according to acting governor Alexei Smirnov.

Smirnov said on Telegram that local police and other state bodies would coordinate to evacuate people from the area directly bordering Ukraine.

Moscow has said that nearly 200,000 people were being evacuated following the attack, the largest assault on Russian soil since World War II.

Ukrainian servicemen of the Shkval special battalion, 28th Separate Mechanized Brigade, ex-convicts, dig a trench during military exercises at an undisclosed location in the Donetsk region on July 26, 2024. At least 30 adverts calling... Ukrainian servicemen of the Shkval special battalion, 28th Separate Mechanized Brigade, ex-convicts, dig a trench during military exercises at an undisclosed location in the Donetsk region on July 26, 2024. At least 30 adverts calling for trench builders in Kursk were found on a Russian jobs portal in the past few days, the BBC's Russian service reported on Wednesday. ANATOLII STEPANOV/AFP via Getty Images

Adam Rutland, co-founder at the Centre for Information Resilience (CIR), a nonprofit dedicated to exposing war crimes, told Newsweek: "There is no doubt evacuated Russian civilians will be asking questions of their government. At home, there is equally no doubt that news of battlefield success will boost morale."

Begorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said that four people were injured after Ukrainian shelling on Shebekino, a town in the region.

Meanwhile, the Indian Embassy in Russia advised its citizens to evacuate from the Bryansk, Belgorod, and Kursk regions. Ukraine announced it was opening up evacuation routes of Kursk and into Ukraine.

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said in a post published on Telegram: "To protect the border regions of Ukraine (primarily the border area of Sumy region), the Defense Forces of Ukraine are creating a security zone on the territory of the Russian Federation adjacent to the territory of Ukraine.

"There are Russian civilians within the specified zone. They are protected by international humanitarian law, which Ukraine fully respects."

A burned car in front of an apartment building damaged by Ukrainian shelling in Kursk, Russia, Sunday, August 11, 2024. It is the largest offensive into Russia since World War II. A burned car in front of an apartment building damaged by Ukrainian shelling in Kursk, Russia, Sunday, August 11, 2024. It is the largest offensive into Russia since World War II. N/A/AP

Vereshchuk followed up with a post that advised Russians who need humanitarian aid or want to evacuate to Ukraine to call a hotline. "Due to the possible deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the adjacent territories of the Kursk region of the Russian Federation, Ukraine should be ready to receive Russian refugees."

Ukrainian forces have pushed on with their major cross-border advance into Russia's Kursk region for a second week, claiming that they took more ground, captured Russian prisoners, and destroyed a bomber in attacks on military airfields.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that over 100 of Putin's troops had been captured by Kyiv amid the continued advance of Ukrainian forces into the border region.

Ukraine claimed on Wednesday that its cross-border invasion had advanced one to two kilometers into the Kursk region since the start of the day and that its troops had finished clearing the Russian border town of Sudzha of Moscow's forces.

Kyiv's advances into enemy lands come after they launched a barrage of missiles and drone strikes to help clear the way for its advances.

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