KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The head of Russia’s Kursk border region on Wednesday called on local residents to donate blood amid vague reports of an incursion by fighters from Ukraine.
Alexei Smirnov, the acting governor of Kursk, said on Telegram that blood banks were stockpiling supplies because of the fighting.
“Over the past 24 hours, our region has heroically resisted attacks” by Ukrainian fighters, Smirnov wrote, adding that all emergency services are on high alert.
The Russian Defense Ministry said Tuesday that up to 300 Ukrainian troops, supported by 11 tanks and more than 20 armored vehicles, had crossed the border into Russia. It said the troops had suffered heavy losses, without commenting further on Wednesday.
There was no independent evidence that Ukrainian forces were involved in the attack. Officials in Kiev declined to comment.
Responsibility for previous raids on Russia’s Belgorod and Bryansk regions lies with two shadowy groups: the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Legion of Freedom of Russia.
Disinformation and propaganda played a central role in the war, which has now lasted three years.
Some Russian war bloggers who are well informed about the war said that there were Ukrainian soldiers in Kursk.
Rybar, a Telegram channel run by Mikhail Zvinchuk, a retired spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry, reported that Ukrainian forces had captured three settlements in the region and were still fighting their way in.
Another pro-Kremlin military blog, Two Majors, claimed that Ukrainian troops had advanced as far as 15 kilometers (10 miles) into the region.
Neither claim could be independently verified.
Russian forces have quickly repelled previous cross-border incursions, but not before causing damage and embarrassing authorities.
The Kursk region’s border with Ukraine is 245 kilometers long, allowing saboteurs to quickly move in and capture territory before Russia sends reinforcements.
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