Russia launches anti-terrorist operation over Ukraine invasion

Russia has imposed an “anti-terrorist” regime in three regions to try to stop Ukrainian military incursions.

Authorities in Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk regions bordering Ukraine can now restrict the movement of people and vehicles and use wiretapping among other measures.

This comes as Ukraine’s offensive in the Kursk region is now in its fifth day. Kyiv has not publicly acknowledged the attack.

Reports suggest Ukrainian forces are fighting more than 10km (six miles) inside Russia – the deepest advance since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

New security measures in three Russian border regions were announced by the National Counter-Terrorism Committee (NAK) on Friday.

It said this was done “to ensure the safety of citizens and suppress the threat of terrorist acts carried out by the enemy’s destruction and investigation units”.

Authorities now have the power to enter people’s homes, restrict traffic and pedestrians, order temporary evacuations and monitor electronic communications.

In recent years, Russia has imposed an “anti-terrorist” regime in cities and towns in the North Caucasus, where security forces have been battling militants.

Last year, such a regime was briefly imposed in the capital, Moscow, during a short-lived armed uprising by Wagner’s Russian army.

The latest moves come as Moscow struggles to contain the invasion of Ukraine.

Russia said up to 1,000 Ukrainian troops, backed by tanks and armored vehicles, entered the Kursk region on Tuesday morning.

The Ukrainians have since been reported to have seized a number of villages, and threatened the regional town of Sudzha.

On Friday, a video emerged purporting to show armed Ukrainian soldiers who claim 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 video was from a Gazprom facility on the northwestern edge of Sudzha, about 7 kilometers from the border with Ukraine. The video alone does not confirm the claim that Ukrainian forces have taken over the entire city.

Russian war correspondents previously said the city was in Moscow’s hands.

Earlier, BBC Verify checked and confirmed the location of another video posted online on Friday morning. It shows a convoy of 15 Russian vehicles damaged, burned and abandoned on the road through the town of Oktyabrskoe, about 38 kilometers from the border on the Russian side.

The video also shows Russian soldiers, some injured, who may have died in the traffic.

Moscow has since sent reinforcements – including tanks and rocket launchers – to the Kursk region.

In its latest report on Saturday morning, the Russian Defense Ministry said that its forces “continue to suppress attempts to attack” Ukrainian forces.

It says Ukraine’s attempts to “intrude deep into Russian territory” have been thwarted.

Russia’s claims have not been independently verified.