ALBAWABA - Following a series of Ukrainian attacks, the Russian city of Belgorod declared a state of emergency, with Kyiv continuing to claim control over several Russian territories.
In a video on his Telegram channel, Belgorod Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov warned of the deteriorating situation across the city. "The situation in the Belgorod region continues to be extremely difficult and tense,".
"Therefore, we are making a decision, starting today, to declare a regional emergency situation throughout the Belgorod region … with a subsequent appeal to the government to declare a federal emergency situation," Gladkov added.
The declaration came after Belgorod began evacuations on Monday in response to Ukrainian advances, which followed Kyiv's unexpected incursion into the nearby Kursk the previous week.
Gladkov's announcement comes as Russia tries to push back Ukrainian forces in neighboring Kursk, where hundreds of soldiers launched a surprise attack over the border in the early hours of August 6.
Ukraine's President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has stated that the attack is not intended to take Russian land, but rather to push Russia to make peace.
Gladkov stated that Belgorod had also been attacked by Ukrainian drones and that while there were no deaths, several structures had been damaged. Earlier this week, it stated that it would evacuate residents of Krasnoyaruzhsky, a border district.
Russia started a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and presently controls around one-fifth of the country's internationally recognized territory.
According to estimates given by the United Nations in February of this year, the war has killed more than 10,000 Ukrainians, including hundreds of children. Schools, hospitals, and other critical infrastructure have been devastated.
Earlier, the UN human rights chief Volker Turk asked Russia to stop its "coordinated attacks against Ukraine's critical energy infrastructure" following a spate of attacks over the previous two months.
