The governor of Belgorod, a Russian region bordering Ukrainian territory, announced today that he is declaring a state of emergency, citing the “extremely difficult” situation due to ongoing Ukrainian shelling.
“The situation in our region, Belgorod, remains extremely difficult and tense, due to the shelling by the Ukrainian armed forces. Houses were destroyed, civilians were killed and injured,” regional governor Vychislav Gladkov said via Telegram.
“In order to guarantee better protection of the population and offer further assistance to the victims, a state of emergency will be declared at the regional level” from today, he added, stressing that he is asking Moscow to also declare a state of emergency “at the federal level”.
He spoke of attacks by Ukrainian drones against two villages in the region — Sebekina and Ustinka. The authorities in the Kursk, Varonez and Bryansk regions also spoke of Ukrainian drone raids, however, assuring that they were shot down by Russian anti-aircraft defense during the night.
Authorities in Kursk also reported that four Ukrainian missiles were destroyed over the perimeter overnight.
Ukrainian armed forces began a large-scale operation on August 6 in Kursk Oblast, which borders Varonez, and claim to have captured more than 1,000 square kilometers of Russian territory.
Russian authorities admit they lost 28 communities and say Ukrainian territorial gains span a zone 40 kilometers wide and 12 kilometers deep.
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