The Russian city of Belgorod is going through “difficult times”, recognizes the regional governor
The large Russian city of Belgorod, the target of several large-scale Ukrainian attacks in recent days, is experiencing “difficult times”recognized Thursday the governor of the region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, during a visit to an exhibition in Moscow supposed to promote the richness of Russian heritage, including in the occupied Ukrainian regions. “Everyone is afraid”admitted Mr. Gladkov to the press. “When missiles explode (…) you don’t worry about yourself, but about your children. »
These comments contrast with the declarations of the Kremlin, which, two months before the presidential election, is trying to demonstrate that the conflict with Ukraine does not directly affect the daily lives and security of Russians. On Tuesday, its spokesperson, Dmitri Peskov, swore that the authorities would ” All “ to stop the Ukrainian bombing of Belgorod.
However, a sign of growing concern, Mr. Gladkov announced on Wednesday the evacuation of nearly 400 children from Belgorod, a town of 335,000 inhabitants regularly targeted by Ukrainian attacks in response to large-scale bombings by the Russian army on the ‘Ukraine. The authorities have also already postponed the start of the school year until January 19 and called on residents, for the first time in nearly two years of conflict, to secure their windows to protect themselves from possible shards of glass in the event of Ukrainian strikes.
Despite everything, Mr. Gladkov also tried to make reassuring remarks on Thursday. “Our mission is to help people”he insisted. “We are rebuilding destroyed houses, we are moving to distance learning, but we are continuing to build new schools”he assured.