How refugees from the border areas were received and accommodated

On May 31, 300 children left the Shebekinsky urban district for a health camp in the Voronezh region. The media reported that some parents paid for the evacuation of children. The head of the district, Vladimir Zhdanov, explained that this departure of the children was planned and simply coincided with the shelling: the Belgorod authorities agreed with neighboring regions on the children’s summer vacation last year.

On June 3, the official confirmed the fact of payment for transportation by buses – the parents paid 1,867 rubles each. According to him, this happened because during the discussion, most parents decided to send their children to the Voronezh region not on PAZ school buses, but on large comfortable buses that are ordered from a commercial organization and paid separately. “I understand that at the moment this amount will be important in every family budget. In the difficult current situation, we overlooked this important issue. Within a week, we will definitely return to the parents the amount spent on transporting children to the camp,” said Mr. Zhdanov.

In the first days after the mass departure of people from Shebekino, Belgorod temporary accommodation centers quickly filled up. They were more than 4 thousand residents of border areas. The authorities decided to place Shebekin residents in the dormitories of the Belgorod State University (BelSU) and the Technological University. V. G. Shukhova (BSTU). By June 3, they accommodated about 1 thousand people. The students said on social networks that they were required to vacate the premises at night and offered “rooms with cockroaches without conditions” in return. And some of the refugees were allegedly settled in rooms where students live, who are now not in the city due to distance learning. BelSU said that almost all students remained within their dormitories, and the belongings of those who left were carefully packed or deposited in specially designated places. BSTU noted that the decision to temporarily relocate students from one dormitory was made “together with the student activists.” Minister of Education Andrei Milekhin said that students currently live in dormitories in accordance with the agreement concluded with BSTU, and there are no plans to evict students from dormitories.

Some children from the Shebekinsky urban district who went to the Kaluga region faced uncomfortable accommodation conditions. A local resident complained on social networks about the dirt and disorder. The governor of the Kaluga region, Vladislav Shapsha, explained that not all country camps had time to promptly prepare for the arrival of guests. One of the groups of children was temporarily placed in the regional education center, but in the morning they were transferred to the Belka country camp. “Children confirm that the conditions here are comfortable,” said Mr. Shapsha.

On the evening of June 5, the mayor of Belgorod, Valentin Demidov, announced that the temporary accommodation center in the Belgorod Arena was no longer accepting Shebekin residents. “Everyone who wanted was placed in hostels, we continue to send those who wish to other regions of the country and districts of the region,” he said. “In recent days, up to 35 people a day have been arriving from the Shebekinsky district. They spend a maximum of one day at the duty station, and then we provide comfortable conditions for everyone.”

Sergei Tolmachev, Voronezh