A new bombing in the Russian region of Belgorod causes at least two deaths

Attacks on Russian territory are increasing and last Friday they affected several regions, some without a border with Ukraine.

Oliver Thansan
Oliver Thansan
03 June 2023 Saturday 04:59
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A new bombing in the Russian region of Belgorod causes at least two deaths

Attacks on Russian territory are increasing and last Friday they affected several regions, some without a border with Ukraine. At least two people died in Belgorod Oblast as a result of a new shelling, reported the regional governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov. In addition, in the morning two long-range drones hit two targets in the Smolensk Oblast. Drones attacked a refinery and electrical installations.

Ukrainian artillery hit a stretch of road in the village of Maslova Pristan in Belgorod's Shebekino district, Gladkov said. The shrapnel hit several vehicles, one of which was carrying two women who died. In another car, two men were injured.

Despite these casualties, the day was calmer than Thursday, when "more than 850 projectiles" fell in that district, the regional chief pointed out. With 39,000 inhabitants, the city of Xebékino, capital of this region, is 5 kilometers from the border. More than 2,500 people are being evacuated from that area, Gladkov said.

Ukrainian artillery has regularly shelled the Belgorod region since Putin ordered the Russian armed forces to break into his neighbor's territory more than 15 months ago.

Russia's Defense Ministry said Thursday it had repelled three attacks in that area in an attempt by Ukrainian troops to "invade" Russian territory. Moscow eliminated 30 enemies, the military report said.

Ukraine denies that its military is involved in such incursions and asserts that they are carried out by groups of Russian volunteer fighters. They themselves assured yesterday in messages on social networks that, despite Moscow's version, they continued to fight within the Belgorod region. One such anti-Putin militia, the Russian Freedom Legion, released videos purportedly from Nóvaia Tavoljanka, a Russian town between the border and the city of Shebekino. Ukraine is also responding to Russian attacks on Kyiv and other parts of its region with drones. The flights of their unmanned aircraft are increasingly frequent and reach greater depth. On Tuesday, it surprised by raining drones over Moscow, an action that caused only minor damage to residential buildings but is highly symbolic because it is the Russian capital. Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine of attacking the civilian population "to intimidate them".

The authorities in Kyiv never claim the attacks on Russian territory. Moscow accuses Ukraine of carrying out "terrorist attacks".

The attacks against Smolensk province yesterday affected the towns of Divassí and Peresna, close to the regional capital, which is 270 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. There were no injuries, and the drones also did not cause any fires at the facility, said Vassili Anokhin, acting regional governor.

Ukrainian drones also arrived yesterday morning in the Kaluga region, which borders Moscow province, and the Kursk and Briansk borders.

While this was happening on its territory, Russia announced yesterday that it has launched a new offensive in the Donetsk province and that it has entrusted it to the Chechen special forces Akhmat, so named by the Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov in honor of his father, the first President of the Republic of Chechnya.

His offensive is centered on the flank of Márinka. Its commander, Apti Alaudinov, said on Thursday that the Russian army controls about 70% of this city.

The spokesman for the Russian Ministry of Defense, Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov, said that on that front line, the most militarized since 2014, the most intense fighting is centered on Avdiivka, a town close to the capital of Donetsk.