Russian forces launched a ballistic missile strike on Ukraine's southern city of Odesa on August 14, hitting port infrastructure and injuring the driver of a grain truck, the regional governor said.
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The attack came as the Ukrainian military continues to advance into the Kursk region, taking over more territory as they go.
The incident in Odesa occurred in the evening after the air force warned of a possible attack with ballistic weapons and declared an alarm.
Odesa Governor Oleh Kiper said the truck driver who was injured in the attack was hospitalized.
The forces advancing in Kursk took over as much as 2 kilometers of territory in some directions on August 14, according to the Ukrainian military. They are creating a "security zone," said Iryna Vereshchuk, deputy prime minister and minister of reintegration of the temporarily occupied territories. The goal is to help protect the border regions, primarily Sumy, from daily enemy shelling.
She noted that the Russian civilians in this zone are under the protection of international humanitarian law, which she said Ukraine fully complies with. Ukrainian Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets added that the Ukrainian military strictly adheres to the obligations stipulated by the Geneva and Hague Conventions.
Vereshchuk said Ukrainian forces plan to conducting humanitarian operations to support civilians within the security zone, open humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilians to both Russia and Ukraine, admit international humanitarian organizations to the security zone, and monitor the humanitarian situation.
She announced the plans after a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy regarding the situation in the Kursk region during which humanitarian aid was discussed.
Zelenskiy said authorities are considering creating military command posts in the Kursk region. Lubinets said these would be necessary to provide humanitarian aid to local residents.
Authorities in Russia's western Belgorod region earlier on August 14 declared a regional state of emergency [...] and a senior U.S. diplomat was in Kyiv to express continued support for Ukraine's war effort.
"The situation in our Belgorod region remains extremely difficult and tense," Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote on Telegram on August 14. "There is daily shelling from the armed forces of Ukraine. Homes have been destroyed and civilians have been injured and killed."
Earlier, Belgorod announced the evacuation of thousands of civilians from districts bordering Ukraine and the Kursk region.
SEE ALSO: In Russia's Kursk Region, Tales Of A Frustrated, Frantic Rush To Escape Ukraine's AdvancesMoscow has declared an "anti-terrorism operation" in the Kursk, Belgorod, and Bryansk regions.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs James O'Brien, who arrived in Kyiv on August 13, met with presidential administration head Andriy Yermak. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office said the two men discussed the battlefield situation and security cooperation.
U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink wrote on the X social-media site that O'Brien's visit sent "a powerful signal" that "U.S. support for Ukraine remains unwavering."
The Russian Defense Ministry said on August 14 that 37 Ukrainian drones had been "destroyed" over the Voronezh region, several hundred kilometers southwest of Moscow. Voronezh region Governor Aleksandr Gusev said no casualties had been reported, but several residential buildings were damaged.
In all, the ministry said 117 drones and "four tactical missiles" had been launched against Russia overnight, including 37 that were reportedly "destroyed" over the Kursk region.
A source within the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) told RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service on August 14 that it had carried out a major strike on Russian military airfields in the Kursk, Voronezh, and Nizhny Novgorod regions aimed at preventing Russia from using those bases to launch attacks against Ukraine.
The claim could not be independently confirmed.
Ukrainian state TV on August 14 broadcast footage purportedly showing Ukrainian soldiers pulling down the Russian flag from a building in the Kursk region town of Sudzha, about 10 kilometers from the border between the two countries.
The Russian head of the Sudzha district told the TASS state news agency that the evacuation of civilians from the area was ongoing and that the situation there remained "difficult."
It is not possible to verify battlefield claims.
Russia's main soccer league announced that a match scheduled to be held on August 18 in Voronezh would be held in Moscow instead.
Ukrainian forces launched a surprise incursion into Russia's Kursk region on August 6 and claim to have occupied about 1,000 square kilometers of Russian territory.
Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said in Helsinki that Ukraine "has the right to self-defense and it's clear that they can do their operation in Kursk."
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As Fighting Continues In Kursk Region, Kyiv Says Its Forces Have Advanced Deeper Into Russia
The U.S. newspaper The Wall Street Journal reported on August 13, citing unnamed U.S. officials, that Russia had transferred some of its forces from Ukraine to the defense of the Kursk region, which analysts have said was a key goal for Kyiv.
The officials said it was unclear how many troops had been transferred or what impact the move could have on the fighting in Ukraine.
The Russian publication Vyorstka wrote on Telegram on August 13 that Russian conscripts who had been evacuated from the fighting in the Kursk region were facing increased pressure from military officials to sign volunteer contracts and return to the front.