Summary

  • Ukraine says it is not interested in holding Russian territory a week on from its incursion into the Kursk region, Kyiv's foreign ministry says

  • Russian officials say they have opened 400 temporary shelters across the country to house 30,000 evacuees - 121,000 people have left their homes so far

  • Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier said Russia "must be forced into peace if Putin wants to continue waging war so badly"

  • Putin has accused Ukraine of "committing crimes" against Russian people and said Kyiv would receive what he called a "worthy response"

Live Reporting

Edited by Malu Cursino and Aoife Walsh

  1. In pictures: People evacuate Kursk as Putin holds meeting on Ukraine offensive

    Here's some of the latest photos from news agencies of the scenes inside Russia today:

    A man reacts while standing next to burnt-out remains of cars in the courtyard of a multi-storey residential building, which according to local authorities was hit by debris from a destroyed Ukrainian missile, in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in Kursk, Russia August 11, 2024.Reuters

    Damage outside a residential building in Russia's western Kursk region

    People queue to receive humanitarian aid intended for residents of the Kursk region, who were evacuated following an incursion of Ukrainian troops, in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in Kursk, Russia August 11, 2024.Reuters

    People evacuated from Kursk queue for humanitarian aid

    People gather in the courtyard of a multi-storey residential building,Reuters

    About 121,000 people have been evacuated from Kursk so far, the region's governor says

    Russia's President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting with security officials and regional governors to discuss the situation in the south of the country following an incursion of Ukrainian troops, via a video link at a residence outside Moscow, Russia August 12, 2024Reuters

    At a meeting with security officials earlier, Russia's President Vladimir Putin said Moscow's forces will "kick the enemy out"

  2. Analysis

    Could Ukraine's incursion shift dynamics of the war?

    Gordon Corera
    Security correspondent

    Ukraine’s push into Russia took almost everyone by surprise. It is a bold move but also potentially a risky one. But Kyiv seems to be hoping it can change the dynamics of a conflict which had been heading more in Moscow’s favour this year.

    Trying to hold on to and occupy Russian territory for any length of time will be challenging if not impossible, given it would be a humiliation for Vladimir Putin, meaning he will bring significant force to bear.

    But the push into the Kursk region could be aimed at relieving some pressure in the Donbas where Russia has been making slow but steady advances.

    In the short term, Russia may move some of its forces to eject Ukraine but also in the longer term Moscow might also feel it has to deploy more forces across the border region in order to prevent a repeat performance.

    But the biggest benefit to Ukraine may be psychological. It signals to both the Ukrainian people and Kyiv’s Western allies that the war is not all going in one direction and there remain ways to reshape the contours of this conflict.

  3. What's the latest?

    A man looks at debris near a multi-storey residential building in KurskReuters

    A man inspects wreckage near a residential building in Kursk

    • Putin's threat: The Russian president says Ukraine will get a "worthy response" for its incursion into Russian territory – and that Russian forces will "kick the enemy out", in a meeting with regional governors
    • Ukraine control: The governor of the Kursk region – which Ukraine entered last Tuesday – told Putin that Ukrainian troops now control 28 villages there. Ukrainian troops are 7.4 miles (12km) deep inside the area, he says
    • Mass evacuations: The Kursk governor added that 121,000 people have now been evacuated from their homes – with 59,000 more to go. In Belgorod, the region next to Kursk, about 11,000 people were told to leave this morning
    • What next? We're waiting to hear any details from Ukraine today on their offensive. Our correspondent Sarah Rainsford looks at whether this will change Russian public opinion of the war - she says it's clear some are asking questions

    Stay with us for more.

  4. Analysis

    Putin appears displeased at Ukraine briefing

    Vitaliy Shevchenko
    BBC Monitoring

    Vladimir Putin likes talking about his "special military operation", but this was clearly not a meeting he enjoyed chairing.

    He kicked it off by talking about how well the Russian army was doing, allegedly inflicting huge damage on Ukrainian forces.

    But the acting governor of Kursk region, Alexei Smirnov, looked and sounded much less upbeat.

    When he started speaking about how deep inside Russian territory the Ukrainian forces were, he was interrupted by President Putin, who told him to focus on "how people were being helped" instead.

    The Russian president appeared displeased, pursing his lips, when Smirnov said the Ukrainians were in control of 28 villages in his region.

    These are scenes you seldom see on Russian state TV and they reveal the scale of the problem faced by Russia in Kursk region.

  5. About 121,000 people evacuated from Kursk region

    Vitaliy Shevchenko
    BBC Monitoring

    Kursk governor Alexei Smirnov says so far 121,000 residents of the Kursk region have been evacuated.

    He says 59,000 more still need to leave.

    "As per your instructions... we've divided the resettlement of people into two stages. First stage: 10km zone in four districts, plus all of the Sudzha and Korenevo districts," he tells Putin.

    "On 8 August, we started [evacuating] all of the six border districts, plus the Bolshoe Soldatskoe and Lgov districts because they are near a nuclear power station. The total is 180,000 people."

    He adds that 12 civilians have been killed in the region and 121 others wounded.

  6. Ukraine controls 28 villages in Kursk – governor

    Vitaliy Shevchenko
    BBC Monitoring

    An up close shot of Putin at the meeting with officialsEPA

    Kursk's acting governor Alexei Smirnov is now speaking at Putin's meeting with officials.

    Smirnov tells him that Ukraine controls 28 villages in the region.

    "The situation remains difficult," he says.

    Ukrainian forces are 7.4 miles (12km) deep inside the region, and the front line there is 40km wide, he says.

    Putin interrupts, saying "the defence ministry will report the depth and width" and asks him to "tell us about the social and economic situation and how people are being helped".

    Smirnov tells Putin that about 2,000 Russian citizens remain in areas occupied by Ukrainian forces in Kursk.

    "We don't know anything about their fate", he adds.

  7. Ukraine will receive 'worthy response', says Putin

    More now from Putin's meeting with officials on the situation in Russia's regions bordering Ukraine.

    He tells them: "Losses have been mounting dramatically for the armed forces of Ukraine, particularly among the most capable units which the enemy has been sending to our border.

    "The enemy will undoubtedly receive a worthy response, and there is no doubt that we will reach all our objectives."

  8. Putin: 'We have to kick the enemy out of our territory'
    Breaking

    We've just been getting some details from Russia – where Vladimir Putin has convened a meeting of officials on the situation in the border regions.

    He tells the meeting, which is being aired on state television, that "the defence ministry's main task is to push, to kick the enemy out of our territory".

    He also says that Ukraine's motivation for the offensive was to improve its negotiating position.

  9. Analysis

    We can't overestimate the significance of this moment

    Sarah Rainsford
    Eastern Europe correspondent

    Will Ukraine’s offensive change Russian public opinion?

    I think it really depends how long it lasts, how deep the Ukrainians go and how it ends - how Vladimir Putin eventually deals with it.

    We can't overestimate the significance of such a huge incursion by Ukraine: The occupation of Russian territory for the first time since the Second World War.

    So it clearly has the potential to make some Russians think.

    Looking at some of the reporting coming out of Kursk region - even given the very controlled environment for the Russian press - it's clear that some are asking questions.

    There was an interesting piece in the Kommersant newspaper over the weekend talking to women who'd been forced to flee their homes. They were angry - angry they weren't given notice, angry that state TV had lied about how serious it was – and angry at the military for failing to contain things.

    So there are questions, but those same people were still talking with support about the occupation of Ukrainian land - and there was no critique of Vladimir Putin.

    It will be interesting to watch how that develops. Because the war has now been brought home to Russians - it's on their territory, they can't ignore it.

  10. Where are Russians being evacuated from?

    People carry suitcases onto coaches in the Kursk regionEPA

    Pictures of people boarding buses were released by officials in Kursk on Friday

    More than 76,000 people have already been evacuated from the Kursk region in Russia, where a state of emergency has been declared by local authorities.

    Also in Kursk, on Monday people in the Belovsky district - which has a population of 14,000 - were told to evacuate.

    In Belgorod - which is the region south of Kursk - some 11,000 people from Krasnaya Yaruga are being evacuated.

    Belgorod is also under a missile alert - with the governor telling people this morning to go down to their basements.

    A map showing Ukraine

  11. Thousands of troops engaged in offensive, Ukrainian official says

    Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged the attack for the first time on Saturday night - saying Russia had launched 2,000 attacks from its Kursk region this summer and it deserved a response.

    A senior Ukrainian official tells the AFP news agency that thousands of troops are engaged in the operation, far more than the small incursion initially reported by Russian border guards.

    This is the biggest co-ordinated attack on Russian territory by Kyiv's conventional forces.

  12. Russia evacuates second region after Ukraine's cross-border attack

    Francesca Gillett
    Live reporter

    Russia is evacuating residents from a second border region, as Ukraine continues its surprise week-long offensive inside the country.

    Some 11,000 people in the Belgorod region have been moved, Russian state media reported, because of "enemy action" near the border.

    Belgorod lies next to Kursk - where Ukrainian troops launched their surprise attack into Russian territory last Tuesday.

    Ukrainian forces have since advanced up to 18 miles (30km) inside Russia - the deepest incursion into the country since Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Kyiv claims thousands of troops are involved.