An official in Russia's Kursk border region on Monday urged more residents to flee the area as Russian troops struggle to respond to Ukrainian fighters who launched a major incursion into the country last week, the Associated Press reported.
The official, who was not identified, called the situation "very tense" as Ukrainian fighters continue to advance at least 20 miles into Russia as they push toward a nuclear power plant.
More than 100,000 people have already fled their homes in areas of Kursk, site of the Ukrainian incursion, according to the AP.
The governor of the Belgorod region next to Kursk also announced the evacuation of people from another district near the Ukrainian border. He described the situation Monday as "alarming" but offered no other details, according to AP.
Russian officials have continued to insist that troops are "continuing to repel the attempted invasion," but the local situation appears more dire than presented. The attack is the largest on Russian soil since World War II.
The country's Defense Ministry last week confirmed intense battles around the towns of Loknya, Olgovka and Ivashkovskoye.
"If the Ukrainians are going to advance any further from where they are now, it's going to be a tough battle," said analyst Pasi Paroinen of the Finland-based Black Bird Group open-source intelligence agency, which is monitoring the war.
Ukraine's success to date is "challenging the operational and strategic assumptions" of the Kremlin's forces, noted the Institute for the Study of War, AP reported.
Russia President Vladimir Putin appeared to downplay Ukraine's action as an incursion, calling it a strategy to stop Moscow's offensive in eastern Ukrained Donbas region and "gain leverage" for possible peace talks, according to the Associated Press.
