While Ukraine was on high alert for air attacks on Monday, the country’s top military commander said tens of thousands of Russian troops were ready to advance on the Kursk region.
“Following the order of their military leadership, they are trying to dislodge our troops and advance deep into the territory we control,” Ukraine’s General Oleksandr Syrskyi wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
Ukraine launched an incursion into Kursk in August, taking control of a number of towns and villages in the border region.
Meanwhile, at least six people were killed in air attacks in southern Ukraine – five in Mykolaiv and one in Zaporizhzhia, where a residential building was destroyed, regional governors reported.
At least a dozen people were injured in Zaporizhzhia, including five children between the ages of 4 and 17.
Earlier, the Ukrainian air force put the nation on high alert for a large-scale missile attack, reporting that a large number of bombers were taking off from Russia and heading to Ukraine.
“The air alert is related to the launch of cruise missiles from Tu-95MS strategic bombers,” the air force said on its Telegram channels.
Power was cut to prevent further damage from attacks, and people were encouraged to seek shelter – including in Kyiv’s metro stations.
But by 0630 GMT the missiles had not arrived. According to some Ukrainian military bloggers, the Russian bombers performed flights imitating the launch of missiles, Reuters reported.
Report: Trump urges Putin not to escalate
The Washington Post and Reuters reported that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump spoke to Russian leader Vladimir Putin and urged him not to escalate the war in Ukraine.
Trump, calling from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Thursday, reminded Putin of America’s sizable military presence in Europe, the Washington Post reported. Sources familiar with the call told the newspaper Trump expressed an interest in further conversations to discuss “the resolution of Ukraine’s war soon.”
Steven Cheung, Trump’s communications director, did not confirm the exchange, saying in a written statement to AFP that “we do not comment on private calls between President Trump and other world leaders.”
The Russian embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment, Reuters reported.
Information from Reuters and Agence France-Presse was included in this report.