(Reuters) – Gunfire was heard on Wednesday near a Russian village in a western region which borders Ukraine, Russian regional authorities said.
It was not immediately clear what happened as regional authorities in the Kursk region gave contradictory accounts, and deleted an earlier statement which said a border checkpoint had come under fire.
“An hour ago, gunfire was heard in the adjacent territory near the village of Gordeevka,” Korenevsky district said in a fresh statement on their Telegram channel. “There were no casualties or damage on our side.”
Authorities in four Russian regions bordering Ukraine and in Russian-controlled Crimea announced they were stepping up security measures on Monday over what they said were “possible provocations” from the Ukrainian side.
Moscow, which sent thousands of troops into Ukraine in what it calls a “special military operation”, has accused Ukraine of targeting its border regions, including by striking a fuel depot in the city of Belgorod earlier this month.
(Reporting by Reuters; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)
