The district directly borders Ukraine and has a population of about 20,000 people. Police and other state bodies would coordinate the evacuation process, acting governor Alexei Smirnov said late on Wednesday,
Ukraine said its cross-border invasion had advanced one to two kilometres into the Kursk region since the start of the day and that its troops had finished clearing the Russian border town of Sudzha of Moscow's forces.
Russian officials have said that nearly 200,000 people were being evacuated following the attack.
A Ukrainian source says drones have attacked four Russian military airfields. (AP PHOTO)
Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said the creation of a "buffer zone" was "designed to protect our border communities from daily enemy attacks".
Russia has been pummelling Ukraine with strikes launched from adjacent border territories, including from the Kursk region.
Ukraine complains of being hamstrung in defending itself against such attacks by the need to respect other countries' compunction about using their weapons against Russia's hinterland rather than against its forces in occupied Ukraine.
Carving out a slice of the Kursk region - which Russia puts at less than half the area claimed by Ukraine - will help that cause.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has vowed to push out the Ukrainian troops, which he says are aiming, with foreign backing, to give Ukraine a stronger hand in possible future ceasefire talks.
But more than a week of intense battles have so far failed to oust them.
Meeting on the situation in the Kursk region. We discussed key issues: security, humanitarian aid, and, if necessary, the establishment of military commandant's offices.— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) Ukraine is defending itself and the lives of its people in border communities while also taking active steps… pic.twitter.com/fdECTBzhPDAugust 14, 2024
"The situation remains difficult," said Yuri Podolyaka, an influential Ukrainian-born, pro-Russian military blogger.
"The enemy still has the initiative and so, albeit slowly, it is increasing its presence in the Kursk region."
Russia said 117 Ukrainian drones had been shot down over its territory overnight, mostly in the Kursk, Voronezh, Belgorod and Nizhny Novgorod regions.
It said missiles had also been downed, and showed Sukhoi Su-34 bombers striking what it said were Ukrainian positions in the Kursk region.
Later, the defence ministry said Russian forces had repelled a series of Ukrainian attacks inside the Kursk region, including at Russkoye Porechnoye, 18km from the border, and some pro-Russian war bloggers said the front had been stabilised.
State television said Russian forces were turning the tide, showing footage of attacks on Ukrainian positions and relocations of Russian civilians.
Some of the Ukrainian drones attacked four Russian military airfields in an attempt to undermine Russia's ability to attack Ukraine with glide bombs, a Ukrainian security source told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
Meanwhile US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump spoke on the phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday and discussed the Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal, Axios reported, citing two US sources.
One source told Axios Trump's call was intended to encourage Netanyahu to take the deal, but stressed he did not know if this is indeed what the former president told Netanyahu. The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Late in July, Netanyahu visited the US and met President Joe Biden, Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and Trump.
Egypt, the United States and Qatar have scheduled a new round of Gaza ceasefire negotiations for Thursday.
20°C