MOSCOW, Aug 9, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - A fire broke out at a Russian military airfield hundreds of kilometres from the Ukrainian border, state media reported early Friday, with authorities ordering evacuations in the area due to a "massive" drone attack.

The attack in Lipetsk region came as pro-Kyiv forces pressed a new cross-border offensive in neighbouring Kursk, in what appears to be the most significant attack on Russian soil since the conflict in Ukraine began.

Official Russian news agencies TASS and RIA Novosti cited the regional emergencies ministry directory in reporting the fire at the Lipetsk airfield, though neither offered a cause.

However, the reports came just hours after regional governor Igor Artamonov announced on Telegram at around 3:00 am (0000 GMT) that Lipetsk had "been subjected to a massive UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) attack".

He later reported explosions "far from civilian buildings" as well as damage to a local power facility.

In a subsequent message, Artamonov urged residents to ignore calls on social media to leave Lipetsk, saying they were "spread by the enemy in order to sow panic" -- only to reverse course less than an hour later.

"To eliminate the consequences of the detonation of explosive objects, a state of emergency is introduced in Lipetsk municipal district," he said in a post at around 4:00 am, listing evacuation orders for four settlements on the outskirts of Lipetsk city.

"Temporary accommodation points and transport are being prepared."

Artamonov said preliminary reports suggested six people had been wounded as a result of the attack.

Air defences in the area were still working as of 6:00 am, he said.

Lipetsk city is about 330 kilometres (210 miles) from the Ukrainian border with Russia's Kursk region, where pro-Kyiv forces for days have been waging an incursion involving around 1,000 troops and more than two dozen armoured vehicles and tanks, according to the Russian army.