by Vladimir Soldatkin
BELGOROD/CHEBEKINO, Russia (Reuters) – Air raid sirens sound almost daily in the Russian town of Belgorod, reminding residents that large-scale war in neighboring Ukraine is also a reality for them.
If large parts of Ukrainian territory were devastated by the war, Russia remained relatively spared with the exception, in particular, of the town of Belgorod, located 40 km north of the Ukrainian border.
An air alert interrupted the start of the Russian presidential election there on Friday, forcing election officials to take refuge in a polling station and briefly interrupting the vote, according to the RIA news agency.
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Vladimir Selezniov, a retiree who witnessed a missile attack on February 15 on Plekhanov Street, which killed seven people, finds it difficult to get used to the danger.
“Of course the situation is complicated, but we live near the border. To say we have gotten used to it would be an exaggeration,” he told Reuters, which was able to visit the city, to which international media can rarely access.
“It is understood that we will win, that we will prevail, but the residents are worried and concerned.”
In the ancient fortified city of 300,000 inhabitants, dozens of civilians were killed by drone and missile strikes launched from Ukraine in response to the invasion that began in February 2022.
Kyiv claims not to have targeted civilians – just like Moscow, whose strikes have nevertheless left thousands of civilians dead and caused hundreds of billions of euros in damage.
On December 30, 2023, missile attacks launched from Ukraine left 25 people dead and more than 100 injured in Belgorod.
Nothing to taint the popularity, galvanized by the war, of President Vladimir Putin, in Belgorod as elsewhere in Russia. He should be widely re-elected as head of the country following the vote which ends on March 17.
WARFOOT
For the inhabitants of Belgorod, disruptions are frequent and the war is clearly visible, between patrols of soldiers and cement blocks placed at bus stops to cushion possible explosions.
Classes in primary schools are now only online, while secondary schools are taught online and in class – a hybrid model also adopted by many Ukrainian schools.
Buses stop at the start of an alert, forcing passengers to get off and walk. Shopping can be complicated and appointments are often canceled. Thousands of people have left the region to escape danger.
In Belgorod, groups of civilian volunteers support the soldiers, a common phenomenon in Russia and Ukraine.
Galina, who collects and sends hygiene items and trench-digging tools to the army, says she is helping to end the conflict.
“There are no other options,” explains Galina, who considers the “denazification” of Ukraine necessary – repeating the Kremlin’s rhetoric deemed absurd by Kyiv’s allies.
“I think that the work (that Vladimir Putin) has started must be completed,” she continues.
CROSS-BORDER INCURSIONS
Russia’s Defense Ministry said Friday its forces foiled an attempted attack by Ukraine in the Belgorod region on Thursday.
Ukraine airlifted up to 30 soldiers near the border village of Kozinka, who were pushed back by Russian soldiers and border guards, the ministry said in a statement.
Ukrainian authorities said Friday that two Russian border provinces, Belgorod and Kursk, were under attack by Russian anti-Kremlin armed groups based in Ukraine.
The town of Chebekino, located about 7 km from the border in the Belgorod region, was hit by shells in May and June 2023 fired by groups infiltrating into Russia. Roads are rough due to the impacts, and buildings have been damaged.
At the time, the regional governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, escorted around 600 children from Chebekino and Graivoron to the towns of Yaroslavl and Kaluga, far from the Ukrainian border.
Valentina, retired, also left Chebekino last summer, urged by her daughter, before returning.
She hopes that the war will end soon and that the inhabitants who left it will return to Chebekino.
“Everyone wants to go home,” explains Valentina, who specifies that she will vote for Putin. “He must end this war.”
(Report by Vladimir Soldatkin, French version by Corentin Chappron, edited by Kate Entringer)
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