The authorities of the Russian region of Belgorod, bordering northern Ukraine, announced this Tuesday the evacuation of some 9,000 minors to other provinces in the coming days. Ukrainian attacks with drones and projectiles have intensified in that territory in recent months, and at least 16 civilians have been killed and another 98 have been injured over the past week. In addition, raids by small Ukrainian assault units on the border continue. These skirmishes have become one of President Vladimir Putin’s main concerns after his re-election. In addition, the Russian president plans to travel to China in May to meet with the leader of the Asian power, Xi Jinping, according to exclusive information from the Reuters agency.
“We are relocating a large number of villages today. We also plan to remove some 9,000 children from [la ciudad de] Belgorod and the districts of Belgorod, Shebekino and Graivoron [estos dos últimos pegados a la frontera]”, the governor of the region, Viacheslav Gladkov, announced this Tuesday. The distribution of the minors has already been organized: “1,200 children will travel to the regions of Penza, Tambov and Kaluga on March 22. The next destination will be Stavropol,” explained the senior official.
Ukrainian attacks on Belgorod and other border regions, such as Kursk and Bryansk, have intensified since late December last year in response to waves of Russian bombings on Ukrainian cities. On December 30, more than two dozen civilians were killed in a Ukrainian offensive with drones and missiles. In mid-February, another bombing claimed seven more lives. Belgorod, which had lived practically unaware of the invasion of Ukraine despite being separated from Kharkiv, in the east of the neighboring country, by just about 80 kilometers, has built anti-drone shelters in the streets and has become a ghost city due to the rout. from part of its population.
With the proximity of the elections held last weekend in Russia, tension increased in Belgorod. The Ukrainian attacks last week left 16 civilians dead and 98 injured, according to regional authorities. This after another Russian bombing of the Ukrainian city of Odessa killed at least 20 people.
This Tuesday, the Russian Ministry of Defense claimed to have prevented another incursion by alleged Ukrainian saboteurs. The Russian president dedicated part of his declarations of Sunday’s electoral victory to these assaults by Russian paramilitaries fighting alongside Ukraine against the Kremlin. “In Russia there is no death penalty, but traitors will always be treated as if they were armed,” the president warned.
This is the first time that the Belgorod Governorate has evacuated its provincial capital. Last year, it voluntarily removed the population from the towns closest to the border with Ukraine, a transit area for the Russian armed forces, where artillery fire has been added to the drones due to its proximity to the front. This same Tuesday, the town of Gráivoron was left completely without electricity due to the destruction of an electrical substation.
Despite the intensification of attacks, the authorities have not declared a curfew in Belgorod, unlike other Ukrainian cities on the front in occupied territory such as Lugansk. The governor of the region announced last week that schools and shopping centers would work with limited hours, and minors would continue to combine a large part of school hours with distance classes.
Putin and Xi will meet again
Consolidated for one more mandate after his overwhelming victory in an electoral farce, Putin has once again set his sights on China, his main partner and without whose help he would not have been able to maintain his war these two years. The Reuters news agency points out that the Russian president will travel to the Asian superpower in May to hold a new personal meeting with Xi Jinping. According to five anonymous sources, the summit would probably take place in the second half of that month and would be the Russian president’s first official trip abroad after his re-election.
The Chinese president congratulated Putin after his victory in elections without rival candidates. All politicians who could have made a real opposition to the Russian head of state were banned or were in jail, in exile or dead. However, despite the great support provided by Beijing to Moscow, the Chinese leader does not recognize the illegal Russian annexation of occupied territories, including Crimea just ten years ago.
Reuters notes that Putin’s visit would come before Xi’s tour of Europe. The spokesman for the Russian president, Dmitri Peskov, avoided confirming this information on Tuesday, but admitted that “several presidential visits and several high-level contacts are currently being prepared.” “We will inform you when it is closer in time,” added the Russian president’s speaker.
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