After Ukraine attacks

Belgorod announces evacuation of thousands of children

(Bild: AFP)

Due to the shelling from the Ukrainian side, 9,000 children are to be evacuated to safety from the Russian region of Belgorod near the border. This was announced by regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov on Tuesday at a meeting of the Kremlin party United Russia in Moscow. Russia, which attacked Ukraine more than two years ago, now sees itself forced to carry out such a large-scale evacuation. Meanwhile, Russia reported the capture of the town of Orlivka in Donetsk.

According to Russian agency reports, Gladkov said that children from the regional capital Belgorod and its surroundings as well as children from the districts of Grajworon and Schebekino directly on the border were now affected by the evacuations. On Friday, 1,200 children were to be taken to the more distant regions of Penza, Kaluga and Tambov, as well as to Stavropol in southern Russia.

Since last week, 16 people have been killed and almost 100 injured in the Belgorod region, the governor said. Three people were also injured by shelling on Tuesday night.

Pictures of the destruction in Belgorod:

(Bild: Belgorod region governor Vyacheslav Gladkov telegram channel)

(Bild: Belgorod region governor Vyacheslav Gladkov telegram channel)

(Bild: AFP )

Putin considers buffer zone in border areas
Belgorod was increasingly attacked by pro-Ukrainian militias fighting on the side of Ukraine in the days before and during the presidential election. The Russian administrative region borders on the Kharkiv region in Ukraine. On Sunday evening in Moscow, Russian head of state Vladimir Putin did not rule out the possibility of his troops occupying Ukrainian border areas in order to form a kind of buffer zone against such attacks. He did not say how large this zone would be.

Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city, and the surrounding area in turn suffer from constant artillery and rocket fire from Russia, for which there is hardly any warning time. During the two years of war, the Ukrainian authorities have repeatedly helped children and adults to leave particularly threatened places.

Russians capture another town near Avdiivka 
According to the Ministry of Defense in Moscow, Russian troops have captured the town of Orlivka in the Ukrainian oblast of Donetsk. Orlivka is located around ten kilometers from Avdiivka, which is under Russian control and is considered strategically important. The Ukrainian General Staff had previously declared that it had repelled nine Russian attacks in the vicinity of Orlivka.

According to the Ministry of Defense, the Russian army also took preventive action against Ukrainian saboteurs near the border with the Belgorod and Kursk regions. In both cases, the saboteurs were killed, the ministry announced on Tuesday.