Russian authorities announced on Wednesday that they had begun evacuating children from border areas with Ukraine that have been heavily bombed in recent days, warning of a “worsening of the situation”.
“As of today, we are withdrawing our children from Chebekinsky and Gravoronsky districts,” said Vyacheslav Gladkov, governor of the Belgorod region, where these two zones are located.
“Today, the first group of 300 children will be sent to Voronezh,” a city located some 250 kilometers to the northeast, further away from the Ukrainian border.
Last week, the Belgorod region was the target of a strong raid by armed men from Ukraine, which surprised Russia.
Since then, according to local authorities, several areas in the region close to the border have been the target of heavy mortar and artillery fire and attacks by ‘drones’ (unmanned aerial vehicles).
On Tuesday night, four more people were injured in an attack on the border town of Chebekino, Gladkov said. “The situation is deteriorating,” he said, adding that more than 260 projectiles fell in the Belgorod region during the day.
Bombings and raids in Russia have increased in recent weeks, as Kiev says it is preparing a major counter-offensive to drive Russian troops back from areas they occupy in Ukraine.
Also this Wednesday, a “drone” crashed into the perimeter of an oil refinery in Ilsky, in the southern Krasnodar region, without causing any casualties or damage, local authorities announced.
The same refinery had already been the target of two “drone” attacks earlier this month that caused fires.
In the early hours of Tuesday, Russia’s capital Moscow was the target of an unprecedented “drone” attack, which authorities said caused minor damage and minor injuries to two people.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022 plunged Europe into what is considered the worst security crisis since World War II (1939-1945).
The exact number of civilian and military casualties is unknown, but several sources, including the UN, have warned it will be high.
Source: DN
