Belgorod, 25 miles from Ukraine, has anxious citizens reporting to police about bogus death threats, while others say they could tell the Ukrainian soldiers are already on their way.
“It is as if they are already here,” a woman told New York Times.
Though Russian media is filled with “normal day” pieces of content and news to make citizens feel safer, the city’s residents know the war is coming to their doorstep.
“There are so many rumors, people are afraid,” said Maksim, 21, a merchant at the market.
And just like in Ukraine, the city’s residents, from the teachers to the merchants in shopping centers, have been conducting evacuation drills with the local authorities. One resident even paid for someone to dig an 11-foot bomb shelter in his yard. Many, undoubtedly, are worried about their safety.
“We feel scared, and it is especially hard when you work with children,” said Ekaterina, 21, a kindergarten teacher who said a shell fragment fell onto the school early this week. “The children start running around screaming ‘missiles’ but we tell them it is just thunder.”
Though the majority of residents in the city support the war, there are those who are frustrated to see other cities in Russia being so laid back during the war.
“How are they not ashamed!” shouted a middle-aged woman named Lyudmila, from the Komsomosky neighborhood.
“In Moscow, they are celebrating City Day, while here blood is being spilled,” she said, referring to a citywide celebration last week honoring the founding of the Russian capital, which featured fireworks and the grand opening of a large Ferris wheel by Putin. “Here everyone is worried about our soldiers, while there everyone is partying and drinking!”
And since Belgorod is close to the border, just miles away from Kharkiv, many families expressed their dismay after Putin continued on with the attacks, even though the nation had been informed this was a minor military operation. Of course, nobody was expecting it to be blown out of proportion as it is now.
Former Kharkiv resident Yulia Nemchinova said she and her husband fled because of problems with Ukrainian authorities, but they moved to Russia because they were promised: “Russia is here forever.”
As for the Russian military, it is reported that they are using the city as a base for missile systems. Yesterday, S-300 missiles from Belgorod hit Kharkiv, which resulted in devastating infrastructure collapse and fire. It was also noted that there was a 46-year-old watcher who died during the attack.
Another S-300 was fired from the city to attack the Kholodnohirskyi district, and various buildings were destroyed. Because of these attacks, Kharkiv’s railway network is partially left without electricity, “but train delays are minimal,” according to UKInform.
For now, Moscow has not released any official statements on what the “light beams” could mean, but this may be a stern warning as they push nuclear threats on the table.
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