Authorities in Russia's western Lipetsk region declared a state of emergency and evacuated four villages in the early hours of Friday morning after a "massive attack" by Ukrainian drones, the local governor said, as Kyiv's forces continue their push into Russian territory.

The drones struck an energy infrastructure facility and disrupted power supplies, Lipetsk Governor Igor Artamonov said on Telegram, adding that Russia's air defense systems had intercepted 19 drones in the region, and nine people had been injured. Russian state media reported that a fire had broken out at a military airfield in the area.

The Lipetsk attack came as Ukrainian troops continued pushing into Russian territory in the Kursk region, as Kyiv seeks to use the surprise incursion to disrupt, divert and demoralize Russia two-and-a-half years after it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Fierce battles continued in the region Friday morning, despite Russia's Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov claiming on Thursday that Moscow's forces had halted the incursion.

Russian President Vladimir Putin held a videoconference call with Alexei Smirnov, the acting governor of the Kursk region, with the Kremlin readout published late Thursday afternoon noting that an evacuation of the area was continuing.

"You and I planned to hold today's meeting in person, but circumstances have developed such that you, of course, need to stay in place," Putin told Smirnov, according to the Kremlin's account.

On Friday, Moscow's defense ministry reported it had intercepted 75 Ukrainian drones in multiple Russian regions overnight.

The Washington Post reported that Ukraine's forces had seized control of the Sudzha gas metering station in the Kursk region, the transit point for Russian gas flows through Ukraine to the EU.

While Kyiv has yet to comment on the matter, Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Goncharenko appeared to confirm the report, writing on Telegram: "Our guys heroically captured Putin's main gas valve in Sudzha."