Injured residents of the Kursk region described attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU) following Kiev’s incursion into Russia’s border region.
Footage captured on Monday shows patients at the Regional Multidisciplinary Clinical Hospital in Kursk that had been wounded in AFU attacks.
Petr Balakhnin, a resident of the settlement of Korenevo, said he was injured in an attack on his car as he and his friend attempted to flee from danger.
"We turned around and they opened fire on us," he said. "They fired at the car, at the roadside, at the road. I was hit, I received a through and through wound to my leg, my fibula was fractured. My [other] leg was hit too, a laceration," he explained.
"I saw that bullets flew everywhere - at the ground, at the car. We survived. The main thing is that we survived and got out of there," Balakhnin concluded.
Another survivor, Galina Samborskaya, a resident of the Suzhansky district, said that she was hit by a piece of shrapnel during shelling.
"As we approached the 'Vasilek' [shop], we suddenly saw a soldier standing there, well, not a soldier, just someone in camouflage fatigues," the woman said. "And bam, he fired at the first car, then at us. When he fired at the first car, the Sergeenkovs (Galina’s friends) peeled out so quickly and vanished instantly, and we were left only with three wheels," she recounted.
"We pulled away, and my husband started to change the tyre. I was bleeding so much... I have never seen so much blood in my life. I was wearing corduroy short trousers, they were completely soaked. I wasn’t in pain, so I didn’t even panic. I didn't feel any pain," she continued.
According to the chief doctor of the hospital, Mikhail Lukashev, 146 people have been admitted since August 6, including an eight-year-old child.
"Many of them have been transported to Moscow for medical care in federal clinics," he said. "We currently have 23 patients in our hospital. All of them have mild to moderate injuries."
The Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Valeriy Gerasimov, stated that Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) units went on the offensive to seize part of the territory in the Sudzhansky district of the Kursk region on August 6, while the actions of Russian troops 'stopped the enemy's advance deep into the territory'.
The Russian Defence Ministry continues to report that attempts to break through the AFU’s mobile groups in the Kursk region have been suppressed.
During a meeting with the governors of border regions on August 12, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the main goal of the AFU was to try to stop the Russian troops' offensive and destabilise the situation in the country, noting that there could be no negotiations with those who 'indiscriminately attack civilians, civilian infrastructure, or try to threaten nuclear power facilities'.
According to the Kursk region's acting government, 12 people were killed and 121 have been wounded in the attacks, including ten children. A counter-terrorist operation regime was introduced in the Kursk, Belgorod, and Bryansk regions on August 9.
More than 120,000 people have been evacuated from the border districts of the Kursk region. Over 10,000 Kursk residents have been placed in temporary shelters located in 24 regions.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that the AFU’s goal in the Kursk region is to 'create a buffer zone' on Russian territory. On August 19, he said that "if [Western] partners lifted the restriction on long-range strikes against Russia, there would be no need to launch an operation in the Kursk region."
Meanwhile, European Commission spokesperson Peter Stano said that 'Ukraine has the right to defend itself', which includes 'hitting the enemy on his territory'.
The US State Department has said that its policy on allowing the use of US-supplied weapons to 'target imminent threats just across the border' had not changed, and noted that the incursion does not violate US policy.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.
'Bullets flew everywhere' - Injured residents of Kursk region following Ukrainian incursion
Injured residents of the Kursk region described attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU) following Kiev’s incursion into Russia’s border region.
Footage captured on Monday shows patients at the Regional Multidisciplinary Clinical Hospital in Kursk that had been wounded in AFU attacks.
Petr Balakhnin, a resident of the settlement of Korenevo, said he was injured in an attack on his car as he and his friend attempted to flee from danger.
"We turned around and they opened fire on us," he said. "They fired at the car, at the roadside, at the road. I was hit, I received a through and through wound to my leg, my fibula was fractured. My [other] leg was hit too, a laceration," he explained.
"I saw that bullets flew everywhere - at the ground, at the car. We survived. The main thing is that we survived and got out of there," Balakhnin concluded.
Another survivor, Galina Samborskaya, a resident of the Suzhansky district, said that she was hit by a piece of shrapnel during shelling.
"As we approached the 'Vasilek' [shop], we suddenly saw a soldier standing there, well, not a soldier, just someone in camouflage fatigues," the woman said. "And bam, he fired at the first car, then at us. When he fired at the first car, the Sergeenkovs (Galina’s friends) peeled out so quickly and vanished instantly, and we were left only with three wheels," she recounted.
"We pulled away, and my husband started to change the tyre. I was bleeding so much... I have never seen so much blood in my life. I was wearing corduroy short trousers, they were completely soaked. I wasn’t in pain, so I didn’t even panic. I didn't feel any pain," she continued.
According to the chief doctor of the hospital, Mikhail Lukashev, 146 people have been admitted since August 6, including an eight-year-old child.
"Many of them have been transported to Moscow for medical care in federal clinics," he said. "We currently have 23 patients in our hospital. All of them have mild to moderate injuries."
The Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Valeriy Gerasimov, stated that Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) units went on the offensive to seize part of the territory in the Sudzhansky district of the Kursk region on August 6, while the actions of Russian troops 'stopped the enemy's advance deep into the territory'.
The Russian Defence Ministry continues to report that attempts to break through the AFU’s mobile groups in the Kursk region have been suppressed.
During a meeting with the governors of border regions on August 12, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the main goal of the AFU was to try to stop the Russian troops' offensive and destabilise the situation in the country, noting that there could be no negotiations with those who 'indiscriminately attack civilians, civilian infrastructure, or try to threaten nuclear power facilities'.
According to the Kursk region's acting government, 12 people were killed and 121 have been wounded in the attacks, including ten children. A counter-terrorist operation regime was introduced in the Kursk, Belgorod, and Bryansk regions on August 9.
More than 120,000 people have been evacuated from the border districts of the Kursk region. Over 10,000 Kursk residents have been placed in temporary shelters located in 24 regions.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that the AFU’s goal in the Kursk region is to 'create a buffer zone' on Russian territory. On August 19, he said that "if [Western] partners lifted the restriction on long-range strikes against Russia, there would be no need to launch an operation in the Kursk region."
Meanwhile, European Commission spokesperson Peter Stano said that 'Ukraine has the right to defend itself', which includes 'hitting the enemy on his territory'.
The US State Department has said that its policy on allowing the use of US-supplied weapons to 'target imminent threats just across the border' had not changed, and noted that the incursion does not violate US policy.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.
Injured residents of the Kursk region described attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU) following Kiev’s incursion into Russia’s border region.
Footage captured on Monday shows patients at the Regional Multidisciplinary Clinical Hospital in Kursk that had been wounded in AFU attacks.
Petr Balakhnin, a resident of the settlement of Korenevo, said he was injured in an attack on his car as he and his friend attempted to flee from danger.
"We turned around and they opened fire on us," he said. "They fired at the car, at the roadside, at the road. I was hit, I received a through and through wound to my leg, my fibula was fractured. My [other] leg was hit too, a laceration," he explained.
"I saw that bullets flew everywhere - at the ground, at the car. We survived. The main thing is that we survived and got out of there," Balakhnin concluded.
Another survivor, Galina Samborskaya, a resident of the Suzhansky district, said that she was hit by a piece of shrapnel during shelling.
"As we approached the 'Vasilek' [shop], we suddenly saw a soldier standing there, well, not a soldier, just someone in camouflage fatigues," the woman said. "And bam, he fired at the first car, then at us. When he fired at the first car, the Sergeenkovs (Galina’s friends) peeled out so quickly and vanished instantly, and we were left only with three wheels," she recounted.
"We pulled away, and my husband started to change the tyre. I was bleeding so much... I have never seen so much blood in my life. I was wearing corduroy short trousers, they were completely soaked. I wasn’t in pain, so I didn’t even panic. I didn't feel any pain," she continued.
According to the chief doctor of the hospital, Mikhail Lukashev, 146 people have been admitted since August 6, including an eight-year-old child.
"Many of them have been transported to Moscow for medical care in federal clinics," he said. "We currently have 23 patients in our hospital. All of them have mild to moderate injuries."
The Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Valeriy Gerasimov, stated that Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) units went on the offensive to seize part of the territory in the Sudzhansky district of the Kursk region on August 6, while the actions of Russian troops 'stopped the enemy's advance deep into the territory'.
The Russian Defence Ministry continues to report that attempts to break through the AFU’s mobile groups in the Kursk region have been suppressed.
During a meeting with the governors of border regions on August 12, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the main goal of the AFU was to try to stop the Russian troops' offensive and destabilise the situation in the country, noting that there could be no negotiations with those who 'indiscriminately attack civilians, civilian infrastructure, or try to threaten nuclear power facilities'.
According to the Kursk region's acting government, 12 people were killed and 121 have been wounded in the attacks, including ten children. A counter-terrorist operation regime was introduced in the Kursk, Belgorod, and Bryansk regions on August 9.
More than 120,000 people have been evacuated from the border districts of the Kursk region. Over 10,000 Kursk residents have been placed in temporary shelters located in 24 regions.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that the AFU’s goal in the Kursk region is to 'create a buffer zone' on Russian territory. On August 19, he said that "if [Western] partners lifted the restriction on long-range strikes against Russia, there would be no need to launch an operation in the Kursk region."
Meanwhile, European Commission spokesperson Peter Stano said that 'Ukraine has the right to defend itself', which includes 'hitting the enemy on his territory'.
The US State Department has said that its policy on allowing the use of US-supplied weapons to 'target imminent threats just across the border' had not changed, and noted that the incursion does not violate US policy.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.