Russia has launched a “counter-terrorism operation” in three regions to stop a surprise cross-border incursion by Ukrainian troops.
Authorities in the Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk regions on the border with Ukraine can now, among other things, restrict the movement of people and vehicles and listen to telephone conversations.
This comes as the Ukrainian offensive in the Kursk region is now in its fifth day. Kiev has not openly admitted the incursion.
Ukrainian forces are reportedly threatening to capture a town in the region as they fight more than 10 kilometers (six miles) into Russia, the biggest 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 Counter-Terrorism Committee (Nak).
According to the organization, this was done “to ensure the safety of citizens and suppress the threat of terrorist attacks by enemy sabotage and reconnaissance units.”
Authorities now have the power to enter private homes, restrict traffic and pedestrian movement, order the temporary movement of people, and monitor electronically transmitted information.
This comes as Moscow struggles to contain the Ukrainian offensive.
Russia reported that about 1,000 Ukrainian troops, supported by tanks and armored vehicles, entered the Kursk region on Tuesday morning.
Since then, the Ukrainians have reportedly captured a number of villages and are also threatening the regional town of Sudzha.
On Friday, a video emerged allegedly showing armed Ukrainian soldiers claiming to be in control of the city, as well as a key Russian gas facility owned by the Gazprom company.
BBC Verify has now confirmed that the footage did indeed come from the Gazprom facility on the northwestern edge of Sudzha, around 7km from the border with Ukraine. The video alone does not confirm the claim that Ukrainian forces have taken over the entire town.
Russian military bloggers previously claimed the city was in Moscow’s hands.
Earlier, BBC Verify checked and confirmed the location of another video posted online on Friday morning. It showed a Russian convoy of 15 vehicles damaged, burned and abandoned on a road through the town of Oktyabrskoe, about 38km from the border on the Russian side.
The footage also shows Russian soldiers, some of them wounded or possibly dead, among the vehicles.
Moscow has now sent reinforcements to the Kursk region, including tanks and missile launch systems.
In its latest report on Saturday morning, the Russian Defense Ministry said its forces “continue to repel the attempted invasion” by Ukrainian troops.
It was claimed that Ukraine’s attempts to “break deep into Russian territory” had been thwarted.
The Russian claims have not been independently verified.
On Friday, the UN nuclear agency urged both Russia and Ukraine to “show maximum restraint” as fighting moves closer to the Kursk nuclear power plant – one of Russia’s largest nuclear power plants.
Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said measures must be taken “to avoid a nuclear accident with possible serious radiological consequences”.
The power plant is located about 60 km northeast of Sudzha.
