Ukrainian strikes disrupting life in Russian border region
A Russian border region being pounded by Ukrainian shelling and drones is expanding its closings of schools and colleges amid a major evacuation plan, authorities announced Wednesday, as Kyiv’s forces extend their campaign of long-range strikes that aim to put the Kremlin under pressure.
Ukraine lacks ammunition supplies along the 620-mile front line because of a shortfall in promised Western aid, which is one of the main factors forcing its army to take a more defensive stance. But at the same time, it’s attacking oil facilities deep inside Russia and seeking to unnerve Russia’s border regions.
Some Belgorod schools near the border will close early before school holidays, regional Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov announced, after Ukraine shelling continued to cause deaths and injuries among the local population.
Schools in and around the city of Belgorod will close Wednesday through Friday, he said. Also, universities and colleges will switch to remote learning, and clubs, sports and other cultural and educational institutions will stay closed.
The measures were announced a day after the governor unveiled plans to evacuate about 9,000 children from the region and several days after a rubberstamp presidential election in Russia in which President Vladimir Putin extended his rule in a landslide.
Ukraine’s attacks on Russian soil have embarrassed the Kremlin. A Dec. 30 artillery strike on the center of Belgorod city killed 21 people, including three children, local officials said.
Putin vowed Wednesday to provide support for Belgorod civilians who have lost their homes and businesses.
“There is a lot to do and we will do everything which depends on us,” he said at a televised meeting at the Kremlin. “Of course, the primary task is to ensure safety.”
Russia’s Defense Ministry said it intercepted 13 Ukrainian rockets over the Belgorod region around midmorning Wednesday. Gladkov, the governor, said three people were killed and two others wounded in “massive shelling” of Belgorod city, the regional capital. He said 16 people have been killed over the past week alone.
In another possible sign of Kyiv’s strategy, Ukrainian drones targeted the city of Engels, about 500 miles east of the border with Ukraine in the Saratov region. An air base for strategic bombers is near the city. Russia’s Defense Ministry said it took down four drones over the Saratov region.
Long-range strikes on Russia are “a cost-effective way to create challenges for the Russian state,” said Michael Kofman, a military expert with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Without more Western help, however, “Russian advantages will mount,” Kofman wrote on X, formerly Twitter, late Tuesday. “The risk of a Russian breakthrough (on the front line) in the second half of the year rises dramatically” unless support arrives, he said.