Russia’s Kursk region estimates the damage caused by the attack in Ukraine at nearly $1 billion, according to Reuters

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Economic damage from Ukraine’s attack on Russia’s mainly agricultural Kursk region is estimated at nearly $1 billion, with more than 150,000 people evacuated since the incursion began, the regional governor said on Wednesday.

Ukraine launched its biggest foreign attack on Russia since World War II on August 6, crossing the border into the Kursk region with thousands of troops backed by swarms of drones and heavy weaponry, including Western-made weapons.

Kursk is a major grain producer in Russia, contributing 4% to the total grain harvest last year. Russia is the largest exporter of wheat in the world.

“The introduction of a federal state of emergency and a regime of anti-terrorist operations in the region had a significant impact on the region’s economy,” Governor Alexei Smirnov said in a publicly broadcast meeting with senior officials of Russia’s Ministry of Agriculture.

Earlier on Wednesday, pro-Moscow war bloggers and a senior Russian commander said Russian forces had launched a significant counteroffensive against Ukrainian troops at Kursk.

Smirnov said that “estimated damages amounted to tens of billions of rubles and are growing.” Its public presentation, presented during the event, gave a preliminary estimate of 85 billion rubles ($934.07 million).

He said grain harvesting could not be completed on 160,000 hectares, while 500,000 metric tons of oilseed crops and 700,000 metric tons of sugar beet were damaged or transported from Russia .

According to the governor’s figures, more than 300,000 tons of grain remain in warehouses in the territory currently occupied by Ukrainian forces. Smirnov also reported significant livestock losses, with more than 350,000 head of pigs and cattle dead.

(1 USD = 91.0000 rubles)