Ukrainian forces advance as Lgov residents flee amidst tension

There is no need to evacuate people from our area, announced Sergey Korostelyov, the mayor of Lgov, on his VKontakte page, where fighting is taking place just a few kilometres away. It is a response to the growing tension among the city's residents as the Ukrainian army approaches.

The war in Ukraine has been ongoing for two and a half years. During this time, we have observed several significant breakthroughs on both sides. However, for the past few weeks, there has been a noticeable slowdown in offensive actions and a focus on a few small sections of the front.

Now many indicators suggest that August will bring another breakthrough for the Ukrainian side. For several days, there has been increasing talk about the advance of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which have advanced into Russia, pushing forward towards the city of Lgov and the several hundred thousand populated Kursk.

The situation is serious, as reflected by the fact that the governor of the Kursk region, Aleksey Smirnov, has spoken out on his Telegram account. Due to the considerable threat, he declared a state of emergency in the region effective August 7.

Tension in Russia is visible both among the country's top politicians and those at the local level. Nevertheless, not everyone sees a threat in the Armed Forces of Ukraine's advance into Russian territory. The mayor of the now-frontline Lgov, Sergey Korostelyov, approaches it with great reservation.

There is no need to evacuate people from our area. The state of emergency is in effect in the region, the situation is still tense, but under control – Korostelyov wrote on his VKontakte page, quoted by the "Moscow Times". He also assured of intensified patrols on the streets of the town of 17,000 people.

At the same time, despite Korostelyov's declarations, the tension in the city does not subside. Residents complain that the number to report evacuation intentions has stopped responding. For this reason, many people are deciding to flee on their own, causing traffic jams and blockages on the streets.