Ukrainian attack near Kursk: Panic, rumours, and evacuation
During the night, panic erupted on pro-Russian channels on Telegram, claiming that there was a new "breakthrough" in the Kursk region and that Ukrainians had attacked a village more than 20 kilometres (km) from the border. Then, it was said that the situation was not as serious. At the same time, authorities accelerated the evacuation of the area.
Much of the information provided by Russian and Belarusian media or government representatives is part of propaganda. Such reports are part of the information war conducted by Russia or Belarus.
During the night, reports about a "breakthrough" in the Kursk region started appearing on pro-Russian channels on Telegram. Ukrainians were said to have commenced operations around the village of Bielaya, approximately 20 km from the border. This area is southeast of Sudzha. Ukrainians had not previously operated here.
The first reports spoke of a "wide front." "Around the village of Bielaya, everything is occupied by the enemy. A nearby hospital was shelled by tanks," wrote the "Two Majors" channel during the night.
In the following hours, Russian bloggers tried to calm the public down. They argued that the fighting continues, but Ukrainians did not capture the village of Bielaya.
According to the "Operation Z" channel, Ukrainians were said to conduct a "force reconnaissance" from the border towards the village. They were reported to have several tanks, several infantry fighting vehicles, and armoured vehicles.
"To suppress enemy activities, aircraft from the Russian Aerospace Forces were called in and conducted shelling," bloggers reported. Ukrainians were said to have lost "several armoured vehicles."
They didn't capture the village, but fighting continues
The well-known WarGonzo channel of blogger Semyon Pegov stated that "increased enemy activity was confirmed" and Russian aviation was involved in the fight.
"In the settlement of Bielaya itself, as people on the ground report, there is no talk of any fighting. Unfortunately, the population, unaccustomed to this type of war, often has incorrect perceptions of what battles look like and sound like when they are near populated areas," he said.
Aleksandr Kharchenko from the Telegram channel "Witnesses of Bayraktar" published a video from the centre of Bielaya. He asserts that fights are taking place at some distance from the village and sometimes battle sounds can be heard, but in the settlement itself, "there is no enemy." — As I was coming here, something was indeed shot down in the sky, but it was most likely a drone, he said in the video.
Evacuation accelerated
The situation seems to be heating up enough for the authorities to act more. Acting governor of the Kursk region, Aleksey Smirnov ordered the acceleration of the evacuation of the area where Ukrainians are operating.
— I am in contact with the Russian Ministry of Defence and other security agencies, necessary security measures are being taken, and I have instructed the head of the Bielovsky district to accelerate the implementation of the operational command's evacuation decision — he announced.
