Maxim Shemetov/Reuters
Belgorod city photographed on March 10th.
CNN
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The region's governor announced that all schools and universities in parts of the Russian region of Belgorod will be closed on Monday and Tuesday due to increased Ukrainian attacks on the region.
Vyacheslav Gladkov added in a statement on Telegram that shopping malls will also be closed on Sundays and Mondays. The affected areas are along the border with Ukraine. The city of Belgorod itself is also subject to closure.
Frequent attacks have left Russians largely isolated from the conflict during the war in Ukraine.
Ukraine's spy chief Kirillo Budanov said on Saturday that Russians were among sabotage groups attacking the Russian regions of Belgorod and Kursk, which border Ukraine.
“This is a story about how Russians solve this domestic problem. We may like some of them more, others less so. But still, they are both Russians,'' Budanov said.
He added during the broadcast that the attacks would continue.
Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported that Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the attacks on Belgorod and Kursk regions had little success, and that Russian President Vladimir Putin would not be kept updated on the situation. He said that he has obtained.
In an earlier statement, Belgorod Governor Gladkov said: “The situation is quite severe both in the city and in the Belgorod region. Naturally, the issue of safety is of the utmost importance for all of us.”
“It's clear that teachers, nannies and technical staff are all concerned,” he said.
Schools and universities in the affected districts have been effectively closed since last Tuesday night, and Mr. Gladkov announced that students would undertake what he called “days of self-study” until Friday. In making the announcement, he said he hoped schools could resume normal activities on Monday.
Maxim Shemetov/Reuters
A man rides a bicycle near a market pavilion damaged by recent shelling in the town of Shebekino in Russia's Belgorod region on March 11.
Ukraine has been attacking the Belgorod region intermittently since the first half of 2023, but the largest increase in shelling and attacks occurred about a week ago.
As in other parts of Russia, people in Belgorod are voting in opinion polls that are widely expected to return President Vladimir Putin to the presidency.
Voting continued for a second day on Saturday, with authorities arresting several Russians for acts of civil disobedience.
Gladkov also said Saturday that two people were killed in the early morning attack, including a truck driver whose car was hit by shells.
Russia's Ministry of Defense said in a post on its Telegram channel on Saturday that Russian troops had repulsed attempts by Ukrainian fighters to cross into Russia in several places, and that they had “attacked the enemy's concentration of manpower and equipment in a complex manner.” It was announced that a shooting attack had been carried out.
Also on Saturday, Ukrainian sources told CNN that the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) carried out drone attacks on three oil refineries in Russia's Samara region.
All three refineries belong to the Rosneft Oil Company and are located on the Volga River in Novokybyshevsk, Samara and Syzran, up to 1,000 kilometers from Ukrainian-controlled territory.
Local residents of Belgorod have posted videos on regional social media platforms showing explosions and fires burning outside homes in the city where the Ukrainian strike took place.
In one video, a woman can be heard telling her mother that she is afraid to leave her apartment.
Earlier this week, on Tuesday, a group of Russian fighter jets in Ukraine launched a cross-border attack on the city of Belgorod, which came under heavy drone and artillery fire.
At least five people have been reported killed and dozens injured in the past week, according to a CNN tally.
