After Ukraine's overnight ambush on a Russian convoy in Moscow's Kursk province, the Kremlin declared a federal emergency and deployed more forces along border regions. A "counter-terror operation" was launched by Russia on Saturday to halt Kyiv's advancements in the border areas.
Additional troops, tanks, forces, equipment and rocket launchers were deployed to stop the advancing Ukrainian troops.
The Russian Defence Ministry said the fighting in the Kursk region is still continuing and the army has launched airstrikes against Ukrainian forces.
Russia's anti-terrorism committee on late Friday said it is starting "counter-terror operations in the Belgorod, Bryansk and Kursk regions...in order to ensure the safety of citizens and suppress the threat of terrorist acts being carried out by the enemy's sabotage groups."
Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said its air defences shot down unspecified objects launched from Ukraine that were flying over its territory.
According to state news agency Belta, Lukashenko stressed that it was made clear to Ukraine that any provocations will not go unanswered.
A video that circulated online showed a destroyed convoy, with bodies just visible incident some trucks on the E38 east-west highway at Oktyabrskoe. In a counter-attack, Russia launched a missile attack killing at least 14 people and wounding over 40 in a Ukrainian shopping mall on Friday.
The mall in Kostiantynivka, in the eastern Donetsk region, is located in the town's residential area.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian leaders have been silent about its strategies or operations in the region. The United States said that it was in touch with the officials in Ukraine and the conversations that took place between them will not be revealed.
Earlier this week, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russia must "feel" the consequences of the full-scale offensive it has waged against Ukraine since February 2022.
