MOSCOW (AFP) — Russia on Wednesday foiled an attempt by a group of Ukrainian fighters to cross the border into its western Bryansk region, the regional governor said.

“In the Klimov district of the Bryansk region an attempt by a Ukrainian reconnaissance-sabotage group to break through into Russian territory was stopped,” Bryansk regional governor Alexander Bogomaz wrote on Telegram.

Russia also said Thursday that it had repelled several Ukrainian drone and missile attacks in the west of the country, including in Volgograd where a fire broke out at a defense ministry site.

Two and a half years into Russia’s campaign in Ukraine, Kyiv seized back the initiative by sending troops into the western Kursk region on 6 August.

Ukraine says it has captured dozens of towns and villages in the region and Russia says more than 120,000 civilians have had to flee the area.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian civilians on Wednesday fled areas close to the front line as Russian troops steadily seized more territory across the eastern Donetsk region.

The Russian army has captured several towns and villages in recent days, even as Moscow scrambles to fight off a Ukrainian counterattack into its western Kursk region.

Civilians in Myrnograd — less than 10 kilometers (kms) from the front line — told Agence France-Presse that increased shelling had finally prompted some to leave, two and a half years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion.

Russian troops are fighting to reach the key logistics hub of Pokrovsk, a strategically important city five kms west of Myrnograd.

Officials on Monday ordered families with children to evacuate Pokrovsk and the surrounding areas, where they said more than 50,000 people still live.