In Belgorod, capital of the Russian province of the same name and about 40 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, this year they have not had religious celebrations on Christmas Day. The services on the night of January 6 to 7, when the Orthodox celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, were suspended for fear of attacks on the city. Although on a much smaller scale, this Russian population is now experiencing what has been familiar in Ukrainian cities for almost two years, when in February 2022 Russia sent its Army to Ukraine and the current war conflict began: alarm sirens, fear, bombings, bomb shelters, flowers for the dead and evacuation.
The Russian authorities announced this Monday that they have evacuated several hundred of their neighbors. The figure is very small when compared to the total population of Belgorod, about 340,000 inhabitants. But it is very significant, because it is the first time that Russia takes this measure in a large city and because one of the Kremlin’s priorities is that the war with Ukraine does not directly affect the security and daily lives of Russians.
“We are afraid! Help us go to a safe place!” were the messages of help that, according to the regional governor, Viacheslav Gladkov, he received in the first days of this year through social networks.
The evacuation operation was launched last weekend. “About 300 residents of Belgorod who have decided to be temporarily evacuated have been sheltered in centers in Stari Oskol, Gubkin and in the Korocha region,” Gladkov said in a video on Telegram. The towns mentioned belong to the Belgorod Oblast, but are far from the border.
Of the major Russian cities, Belgorod is the closest to Ukraine. Like other areas near the border, since the beginning of the conflict it has been periodically hit by enemy artillery. So far there was damage, but few victims. Therefore, although it is not comparable to what Ukraine has suffered, with cities completely devastated, its residents have suffered a deep shock.
After a Ukrainian airstrike hit the Russian landing ship Novocherkassk in Crimea on December 26, Russia mounted the most brutal airstrike of the current war. On the 29th, it launched 158 missiles and drones against numerous Ukrainian cities, causing 55 deaths.
Ukraine responded by bombing Belgorod on Saturday, December 30, leaving 25 dead, including 5 children, and more than a hundred injured. It is the deadliest attack on Russian soil in nearly two years of conflict.
Since that day, a give and take of sporadic attacks has continued between the two Slavic countries. The response against Belgorod would not go unpunished, warned Russian President Vladimir Putin. On January 2, a Russian attack against Kyiv and Kharkiv left five dead. The latest attack so far against the Belgorod region occurred late on Monday, January 8, when a Ukrainian shelling wounded three people while Russian air defenses shot down ten RM-70 Vampir rockets, the Russian Defense Ministry reported. .
On Friday, January 5, Gladkov proposed to the citizens of Belgorod to think about evacuation. Mayor Valentin Demidov’s office asked residents to secure windows with tape. That doesn’t stop the blast wave, but it prevents the glass from exploding into a million shards and injuring anyone inside.
In another sign of concern, the restart of classes after the New Year and Christmas holidays was postponed until the 19th. Students should return to class this January 9.
On January 6, religious services for Orthodox Christmas were canceled in the regional capital and in towns less than 20 kilometers from the border.
The regional government has also organized the departure of minors to other places in Russia. Around 1,300 children will go to urban school camps in other regions. “He called my fellow governors of the Voronezh, Kaluga, Tambov and Yaroslavl regions. They are all ready to help us. We have already sent our specialists to see where the children will be accommodated,” Gladkov announced.
