Russia scrambles troops, arms to counter Ukraine incursion

KYIV, Ukraine: Russia said on Friday it was deploying more troops and munitions to a border region where Ukraine had mounted a major ground offensive, as Ukraine said a Russian strike on a supermarket in its east killed 11 people.

Kyiv´s troops have been driving into Russia´s western Kursk region since Tuesday in a surprise offensive that appears to be the most significant attack on Russian soil since Moscow invaded in February 2022.

Russia´s defence ministry said it was sending columns of military hardware, including rocket launchers, artillery, tanks and heavy trucks to reinforce its defences in the region, state media reported.

Around 1,000 Ukrainian troops and more than two dozen armoured vehicles and tanks were involved in the initial attack, according to Russia´s estimates, although it has since claimed to have destroyed many more pieces of equipment.

Kyiv has not officially taken responsibility, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an address Thursday that Russia needed to “feel” the consequences of its invasion.

Both sides also stepped up aerial attacks behind the frontlines on Friday.

A Russian missile strike on a supermarket in the east Ukrainian town of Kostyantynivka in the middle of the day killed at least 11 people and wounded 44, Ukraine´s State Emergency Service said.

The town is about 13-kms from the nearest Russian positions.

“Russia will be held accountable for this terror,” Zelensky said in a post on Telegram.

AFP journalists on the scene saw dozens of people fleeing as police officers warned of a potential second strike.