Vladimir Putin has transferred “several thousand troops” across the border into Russia in response to a surprise incursion by Ukrainian forces in the Kursk region in recent days, the White House has said.
Sources told CNN at least 1,000 have been diverted to the border region. Speaking yesterday, John Kirby, the Biden Adminstration’s National Security Council spokesperson, said: “It is apparent to us that Mr Putin and the Russian military are diverting some resources, some units, towards the Kursk Oblast to ostensibly counter what the Ukrainians are doing.”
Meanwhile, massive explosions have rocked Crimea overnight, with pictures showing fires erupting and a bridge between the occupied Ukrainian peninsula and mainland Russia currently suspended to traffic.
Posting on the Telegram app, blogger Crimean Wind said: “Vehicular traffic on the Crimean Bridge is temporarily suspended.” The Krymskiy Veter channel reported explosions close to the city of Kerch and also claimed “smoke is rising” in the area of the ferry crossing.
Additionally, various Telegram channels reported explosions in Chornomorske and Kamianka, close to Simferopol, and air-raid warnings and shooting in Feodosiia.
The news comes as Ukraine seized around 1,000 square kilometres of internationally recognised Russian territory in the Kursk Oblast. The attack – ongoing for more than a week – appears to have caught Vladimir Putin‘s forces by surprise as Moscow scrambles to respond.
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