Joe McConnell
Russia has imposed an “anti-terrorist operation” regime in three regions to try to stop a surprise cross-border incursion by Ukrainian troops.
Authorities in the Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk regions, bordering Ukraine, can now restrict the movement of people and vehicles and resort to wiretapping, among other measures.
This comes as the Ukrainian offensive in the Kursk region is now in its fifth day. Kiev has not openly admitted the incursion.
Ukrainian troops are reportedly fighting more than 10 kilometers (six miles) inside Russia, the deepest advance since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The new security measures in Russia’s three border regions were announced on Friday by the National Anti-Terrorism Committee (NAK).
He said this was done “to ensure the safety of citizens and suppress the threat of terrorist acts by enemy sabotage and reconnaissance units.”
Authorities now have the power to enter private homes, restrict traffic and pedestrians, order the temporary relocation of people, and monitor information sent electronically.
In recent years, Russia has imposed an “anti-terrorist operation” regime in villages and towns in the North Caucasus region, where security forces have been fighting militants.
Last year, such a regime was briefly imposed in the capital Moscow, during a short-lived armed mutiny by Russian Wagner mercenaries.
The latest measures come as Moscow struggles to contain the Ukrainian offensive.
Russia said that about 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers, supported by tanks and armored vehicles, entered the Kursk region on Tuesday morning.
Since then, the Ukrainians have reportedly captured several villages and even threatened the regional town of Sudzha.
A video emerged on Friday purportedly showing armed Ukrainian soldiers claiming to be in control of the city and a major Russian gas plant owned by the Gazprom company.
BBC Verify has now confirmed that the footage did indeed come from the Gazprom facility on the northwestern outskirts of Sudzha, about 7km from the Ukrainian border. The video alone does not verify the claim that Ukrainian troops have taken the entire town.
Previously, Russian military bloggers had claimed that the city was in Moscow’s hands.
BBC Verify previously verified and confirmed the location of another video posted online on Friday morning. It shows a damaged, burned and abandoned Russian convoy of 15 vehicles on a road through the town of Oktyabrskoye, about 38km from the border on the Russian side.
The footage also shows Russian soldiers, some wounded, perhaps dead, among the vehicles.
Moscow has since sent reinforcements, including tanks and rocket launchers, to the Kursk region.
In its latest report on Saturday morning, the Russian Defense Ministry said its troops “continue to repel the attempted invasion” by Ukrainian forces.
He claimed that Ukraine’s attempts to “push deep into Russian territory” had been thwarted.
The Russian claims have not been independently verified.
