Russia has begun evacuations in the Belgorod region as it eyes rising military activity across the border in Ukraine.
The governor of Belgorod announced on Monday that he had ordered civilians in one district of the region to head for safety. Russian forces are battling an Ukrainian offensive in the neighbouring Kursk region.
“The enemy is active on the border of the Krasnoyaruzhsky district”, Vyacheslav Gladkov warned on the Telegram messaging platform on Monday.
“For the health and security of our population, we’re beginning to move people who live in Krasnoyaruzhsky to safer places,” he said. “I am sure that our servicemen will do everything to cope with the threat that has arisen.”
It was unclear from Gladkov’s statement how many Russian residents have been evacuated so far in Belgorod, which has regularly come under fire from Ukrainian missiles and drones in recent months.
Kyiv is reported to have sharply increased military activity near its border with Belgorod since its forces pushed into Kursk early on August 6.
Russia has promised a strong reaction to what is Ukraine’s biggest incursion into Russia since Moscow invaded its neighbour in 2022.
More than 76,000 people have fled the border area in Kursk.
Credit: aljazeera.com
