Russia claims it repelled second attack by pro-Kyiv militias
Russia claimed it had thwarted another raid by pro-Kyiv militias in its border region with Ukraine, which has caused panic among residents who hurried to evacuate.
Russian forces meanwhile have ramped up their ballistic missile attacks on the Ukrainian capital, killing three civilians and injuring 14 others on Thursday.
The Russian defence ministry said its forces foiled an attack near the Shebekino border crossing at about 3am on Thursday, killing 30 Ukrainians and destroying several combat vehicles.
The Financial Times could not verify Moscow’s claims. However, two Ukraine-based militias have claimed to have crossed over into Belgorod region, the second raid in just over a week. These are the same anti-Kremlin militias that ventured into that area in May, composed largely of Russian citizens using American-made military vehicles. While Ukraine denied direct involvement, a military intelligence official admitted that his department “co-operate[s]” with the militias.
The incursions, as well as recent drone strikes in Moscow, have exposed Russia’s security vulnerabilities and brought the war back home to Russians.
Local authorities said shelling of Shebekino’s urban district had increased significantly since Wednesday. The town was attacked by Grad missiles, resulting in several fires and the destruction of buildings. The attack caused people to panic and leave town, according to several residents who spoke to the FT.
A building on fire in the town of Shebekino © Screengrab from a video obtained by Reuters
“The whole city of Shebekino is under continuous fire . . . People are in panic, those who can are trying to leave. The others are hiding in the basements,” said Alexander, a local blogger.
He said the local administration had set up a hotline for those seeking help to flee, but there was no centralised evacuation for everyone.
Belgorod’s governor, Viacheslav Gladkov, on Wednesday announced a voluntary evacuation for children. But he said gathering places would not be publicised because they could become a target and that authorities would instead drive evacuation cars to homes.
Local social media channels were flooded with panicked messages from people looking to join carpools out of town or begging neighbours to help their elderly relatives. A local resident said so many people were fleeing that petrol stations were running low on fuel.
“The kids are scared, the hotline is busy! Why isn’t the evacuation announced!? Doesn’t anyone care about the people?” Shebekino resident Aksinia wrote in a local channel. “We don’t know what to do! How are we going to get out of here!!!”
No fatalities were reported as a result of the raid, but several people were said to be injured and 11 hospitalised, according to state RIA Novosti agency.
The aim of these types of attacks within Russia, a western official said, is to create more difficulties for the Russian command and control, forcing it to redeploy troops to areas it didn’t have to defend before.
“There’s another aspect on the psychological side,” the official said. Not knowing what to expect from the Ukrainian counter-offensive creates a “fraying period of waiting and uncertainty” when morale is already low due to the “well over 200,000” casualties Russia is estimated to have incurred since its launched its full-scale invasion.
The Kremlin has not commented on the worsening situation in the Belgorod region, in stark contrast to its bellicose rhetoric following attacks on Moscow and the Kremlin.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that President Vladimir Putin “is constantly receiving reports . . . about Shebekino and remains in contact with local authorities”. He stressed that the attacks would not change the course of Russia’s war and lamented that the west had not criticised them.
In Kyiv, authorities were dealing with the aftermath of the 18th Russian air attack on the Ukrainian capital in the past 31 days.
Thursday morning’s missile bombardment started at about 3am local time, when air raid sirens howled across the city and explosions from air defence systems were seen and heard in the night sky.
Ukraine’s air force said it had downed 10 missiles launched from Russia’s Bryansk region. Kyiv mayor Vitaly Klitschko said missile debris crashed in the eastern districts of Dniprovskyi and Desnyanskyi.
Klitschko, a celebrated boxer who has served as mayor since June 2014, came under criticism on Thursday after a Kyiv resident blamed him for the death of his wife.
Kyiv mayor Vitaly Klitschko, centre, speaks to people in an underground shelter in Kyiv on Thursday © Sergei Chuzavkov/AFP/Getty Images
Yaroslav Riabchuk told Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne that he, his wife and their daughter tried to seek shelter in the basement of a medical facility in Desnyanskyi district, but they were unable to get in when debris came crashing down.
“The shelter was locked. People knocked and knocked for a very long time . . . There were women and children, but no one opened the door,” Riabchuk said, fighting back tears. “Our child survived but my wife was killed.”
Two other people were also killed, including a nine-year-old child.
Klitschko, who visited the scene, said the director of the clinic and head of the Desnyanskyi district had been suspended while police investigate why the doors were locked.
The air force said the use of ballistic and cruise missiles meant there were only a few minutes between their launch and the moment they were intercepted, leaving a very small window of time to seek shelter.
The death of two children hit particularly hard, as the attack came on International Children’s Day. In Kyiv, Klitschko announced that all planned events were cancelled.
In Moscow, Putin held video conferences with Russian families, taking questions from children who asked if he was more powerful than Russia’s Santa Claus. “We are all sinful people, we need to strive for what is bestowed upon us [from above],” Putin said.
Additional reporting by John Paul Rathbone in London
Source: Financial Times
