Moscow. The Ukraine carries the war into Russia. People are angry – not only about the border security, but also about the lack of help.
„We have been at war for more than two years! Has no one thought about protecting the state border with us? Not everyone is friendly towards us,“ Oleg, who lives with his son just outside Moscow, is very upset. He told our editorial team that „troops from another country can cross the state border with tanks and heavy artillery unhindered.“ Anger is palpable among many Russians – and criticism also comes from prominent figures. Among those speaking out is Russian parliamentarian Andrei Guruljow. He finds it hard to believe that no one knew about the accumulation of enemy troops at the border of the region, according to a newspaper report.
In some parts of the Russian border area, chaos reigns. Alexej Smirnov, the acting governor of Kursk, revealed via video conference in a crisis meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin how unprepared his region was for the Ukrainian invasion. 120,000 people have been evacuated so far, with another 60,000 people still remaining in areas that need to be evacuated for safety.
„The situation in the region is difficult,“ Smirnov explained. People in parts of the Belgorod region have also been brought to safety. According to reports, over half of the residents of the city of Shchekino have left their homes. 28 Russian villages are now reportedly in Ukrainian hands. Kiev’s troops have advanced up to twelve kilometers deep into Russian territory along a 40-kilometer front, according to Smirnov in the crisis meeting.
Many Russians just want to get away from Kursk. However, the evacuation does not seem to be as orderly as the Kremlin portrays it.
Kremlin chief Putin was reportedly angered by these detailed reports, according to news agencies. The governor was reprimanded by Putin for not commenting on the military situation, but only on social issues. So far, according to authorities, there have been twelve deaths and 121 injuries – including ten children. The whereabouts of another 2,000 people are completely unknown, they are missing, it is said. Aid organizations are now searching for them.
„We had to leave the house we built ourselves,“ says Yuri, a resident of the Rylsky district, to the online portal „regnum.ru.“ His house is located 26 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. Artillery salvos could be heard in the village, drones flew over the houses. Nevertheless, the majority of the people in the village stayed. Many of them categorically reject evacuation, as they have their property and livestock there. Aljona: „Shots could be heard around half past one in the morning.“ Many residents report a chaotic escape on social media. Aljona, for example, from the village of Nikolayev-Darino. „The shots could be heard around half past one in the morning,“ he said. „People were sitting in the cellars – there were explosions. Then those who could flee ran to the cars nearby. Everything was whistling over us. The tanks drove in.“ It was all very frightening, he said.
„There was no evacuation,“ he said. „Some walked, like me.“ On Saturday, Artem Sharov of the Russian Ministry of Civil Defense announced that 60 accommodation centers for evacuees had been set up. People would be evacuated by buses and trains and would receive the necessary help in the centers. Such centers exist not only in the Kursk region, but also in other regions like Tula, Voronezh, Moscow, Oryol, Lipetsk, Kaluga, and Tver.
The actual situation in the war zone on Russian soil remains unclear. According to its own information, Ukraine now controls about 1,000 square kilometers of the Kursk region. President Volodymyr Zelensky shared a video of the report by Army Chief Oleksandr Syrskyj on Telegram. At the crisis meeting in Moscow, Putin said that the main task of the Ministry of Defense now is to „drive the enemy out of our territories and ensure reliable border security.“
Ukraine allegedly controls 1,000 square kilometers in Russia
The border areas of Bryansk, Kursk, and Belgorod have been declared zones of an anti-terror operation. „Despite the deployment of additional army units, it has not yet been possible to stabilize the front line,“ writes the Russian military blog „Rybar.“ But Russia’s army is slowly advancing. Probably not from eastern Ukraine, where the fighting continues unabated. But now in the Russian border area, Chechen Ahmad special units are also reportedly active.
One goal of the Ukrainian invasion is to put pressure on the West. „We need the appropriate approvals from our partners for the use of long-range weapons,“ emphasized Zelensky. It is probably also about strengthening morale in one’s own population – and at the same time about unsettling the Russians. But Zelensky’s strategy is risky. It is to be feared that Putin will strike back very hard – also to calm his own population.