Kiev expands offensive; President Putin convenes urgent meeting of National Security Council, warns of "strong reaction"

Ukraine says it is continuing to expand its operation in Kursk province and has taken control of dozens of villages and towns as the incursion enters its second week.

Ukrainian servicemen and a military vehicle in the Sumy region near the Russian border. (Source: Reuters)

President Vladimir Putin recently summoned senior officials to a regular Security Council meeting to hear a report from Defense Minister Andrey Belousov.

The main topic will not be Ukraine's surprise attack on Russia's Kursk border province, but will focus on discussing "new technical solutions applied in special military operations".

“The Kremlin doesn’t want to send a message that the enemy is at its doorstep,” said Olga Oliker, head of the Europe and Central Asia department at the International Crisis Group in Brussels. “They don’t want to send a message about Ukraine’s strength and their own weakness.”

The Kremlin said Mr Putin had discussed “current issues” with senior officials about the “situation” on the border at an earlier meeting. “Needless to say, the main goal of the defence ministry is to force the enemy to withdraw from our territory,” the Russian leader said, warning of a “firm response”.

Ukraine said it was continuing to expand its operation in Kursk province and taking control of dozens of villages and towns as the incursion entered its second week. The Russian Defense Ministry has rushed in reinforcements to try to regain control, but so far without success.

Authorities have also declared a state of emergency in neighboring Belgorod province, where officials have reported increased cross-border attacks from Ukraine.

Meanwhile, on the morning of August 18, a Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) attacked an oil storage facility in the Rostov region of southern Russia, causing a large fuel fire.

Russia's Rostov region governor Vasily Golubev said videos posted on social media showed thick black smoke and flames rising from the site of the fire in the town of Proletarsk.

"In southeastern Rostov, air defense forces repelled a drone attack. A diesel fire broke out due to debris falling on storage facilities in Proletarsk. At 05:35 (09:35 GMT), firefighting operations at an industrial facility in Proletarsk were hampered by a second drone attack," Golubev added. However, there were no casualties after the fire.

On the same day, the Commander of the Ukrainian Air Force said that the country's forces destroyed eight Russian attack drones and five of the eight missiles launched last night. The official announced: "Air Defense Missile Forces, mobile fire groups of the Ukrainian Defense Forces and electronic warfare units shot down 13 air targets in the Kiev, Sumy and Poltava regions."

According to an announcement from the military administration in the capital Kiev of Ukraine, the country's air defense units are trying to repel a Russian air attack in the early morning of August 18.

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