Thousands of Russian and Ukrainian civilians have been evacuated along the border as Ukraine launched a major attack from its Sumy region into Russia's Kursk region beginning Tuesday.

According to France 24, hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers and dozens of armed vehicles including tanks crossed over the border, spurring an air and artillery response from Russia to repel the attack. Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Ukraine had attacked civilian buildings. Ukraine has not yet claimed responsibility for the incursion.
 

"The Kyiv regime has undertaken another large-scale provocation," he said in a televised meeting with government officials. "It is firing indiscriminately from various types of weapons, including rockets, at civilian buildings, residential houses and ambulances."

Ukraine has not yet commented on the attack but authorities announced they were evacuating around 6,000 people from its Sumy region. Kursk regional head of Russia, Alexei Smirnov reported that authorities evacuated several thousand people and canceled mass gatherings.

Russian military bloggers have reported that the Ukrainian incursion has reached Sudzha, a small town of around 5000 people which houses a major transit point for Russian pipeline gas going to Europe. A priest from the town, Evgeny Shestopalov, shared to Russian media that Sudzha was "on fire," adding, "Our church is full of people, children, not everyone has shelters, not everyone can leave ... There is no transport running, so we are gathering people in the church."