Russian authorities confirmed that fighting was ongoing in the southern border region of Kursk on Wednesday, as civilians fled amid reports that Ukrainian forces may have advanced into Russian territory. “The operation to destroy the groups of the Ukrainian armed forces is continuing,” the Russian Ministry of Defence said in a statement, one day after it claimed to have repelled a Ukrainian offensive. The ministry added that at least 260 Ukrainian soldiers and 50 units of equipment had been lost in the fighting, including 7 tanks. According to Russian authorities, thousands of civilians have f…