Russian Emergencies Minister Alexander Kurenkov declared, on Thursday, that Russia's Belgorod Region has been declared a federal-level state of emergency shortly after a meeting of the Legal Commission for Emergency Prevention, Response, and Fire Safety was held, with the situation in the Belgorod region being a key topic of discussion.

"In accordance with the information received during the reports, I propose to classify the emergency situation that arose in the Belgorod region as a federal state of emergency and establish a federal level of response," Kurenkov said.

The scope of the situation in the Belgorod region exceeds its capacity to independently manage the aftermath of the current emergency, the minister explained. He noted that the situation in the region is difficult and tense, with homes and infrastructure damaged and casualties reported due to attacks by Ukrainian armed forces.

Just yesterday, the governor of Russia's Belgorod region declared a state of emergency on Wednesday, describing the situation as "extremely difficult" amid ongoing Ukrainian bombardment in the border area.

"The situation in our Belgorod region remains extremely difficult and tense due to shellings from the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Houses are destroyed, civilians died and were injured," Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov announced via Telegram.

He further stated that, starting Wednesday, "a state of emergency will be introduced on the regional level, followed by a request to the governmental commission to declare a federal state of emergency."

In a related development, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov announced, on Thursday, that the authorities in the Belgorod Region will promptly inform the public about the newly declared federal state of emergency.

"We will try to inform in detail what this regime provides for the affected municipalities, for the affected residents, as soon as possible," Gladkov said in a video message published on Telegram.

Kiev discussed attacking Russia's Kursk region with Western partners

The attacks on Belogrod coincided with Ukraine's incursion into Russia's Kursk region.

Ukrainian presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak said, in an interview for The Independent newspaper on Wednesday, that Kiev did indeed discuss the Kursk offensive with its Western partners, despite some of them denying it.

On Wednesday, US State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel could not confirm whether US-supplied weapons were used in Ukraine's attack on Kursk. Additionally, German government deputy spokesman Wolfgang Buchner previously stated that Kiev planned the incursion without input from its partners.
 
 "There are certain things that have to be done with the element of surprise, and that have to happen on a local level," Podolyak stressed.

He added that "there were discussions between partner forces, just not on the public level."

Furthermore, Podolyak highlighted Ukraine's frustration over its restrictions on using missiles like the Storm Shadow deep within Russian territory, as their use in offensive operations against Russia is prohibited, according to the newspaper.

On August 6, Ukrainian forces crossed the border into Russia and launched an offensive in the Kursk Region. In response, Russian President Vladimir Putin described the attack as another large-scale provocation by Ukraine, noting that it involved indiscriminate fire on civilian targets. Putin added that the enemy would face an appropriate response in Russia's border regions.

Read more: Ukraine suffering massive losses in Kursk offensive, Russia says