“It’s scary for the children”: what is happening in Belgorod Shebekino

The city is empty due to the strikes of the APU

In the Voronezh region, they announced their readiness to accept not only Belgorod children in the region’s sanatoriums, but also other migrants who need shelter from shelling. The situation in the border areas of the Belgorod region is indeed tense. Especially goes to Shebekinsky district. Over the past day, the city of Shebekino has repeatedly come under massive artillery fire from the Ukrainian side. APU strikes make people’s lives unbearable and complicate the work of local businesses.

What is happening in Shebekino – understood “MK”.

In just one day, 215 strikes were made in the Shebekinsky district, of which 49 shells flew into the city itself. Even the Temporary Accommodation Center (TAP), where people from shelled settlements were sheltered, was under attack. There were old people and children in the buildings of the sanatorium, which had three precise hits by Ukrainian shells, and the security guard died.

According to eyewitnesses, everyone was evacuated from the TAP. Now the territory of the former sanatorium is empty and with its abandoned view resembles the city of Pripyat, leaving a sad impression.

Over the past 24 hours, shell and rocket artillery strikes in Shebekino have broken windows and damaged the facades of 29 apartment buildings at once. An office building and a shopping center were also damaged. The store burned down, three dozen cars were damaged.

Shebekino, which is less than 10 km from the Ukrainian border, is regularly shelled by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In addition to the city itself, the villages of Novaya Tavolzhanka, Sereda, Murom, which are part of the district, fall under rocket and mortar strikes. There are many industrial enterprises in this area, the normal operation of which is now called into question.

A few days ago, a Ukrainian drone attacked a granary at an agricultural enterprise in Murom. No one was hurt, but the workers had to be evacuated. In Shebekino itself, four local factories were recently shelled at once. The building of the enterprise with paint and varnish liquids caught fire, where four employees received burns of the respiratory tract and carbon monoxide poisoning.

In total, there are about a dozen factories and factories in the city. Shebekino produces equipment for the baking and confectionery industries, paints and varnishes, clothing, feed concentrates, fire extinguishing agents, tractors and special equipment. Quite famous in Russia is the products of the Shebekinsky “Pasta and Confectionery Production”.

Mikhail, a resident of the city, told MK about the situation in Shebekino.

—​ How do the people of Shebekin feel today?

“Our problem, if you can call it that, is much deeper and more dangerous than it might seem at first glance. Once upon a time, I was at war. There we also feared for our lives, but that was completely different. There was a foreign land. Home, family, loved ones were far away and safe. And now everything is here, in your city, where everything seems to be the same, but it seems to be completely gone. Anywhere you can find it. Any time.

There is no sense of security. We don’t go outside anymore. Every day they hit us. Almost every night something is on fire. There are interruptions in electricity, water, gas. In the evening you walk down the street – there is someone’s car. In the morning in the same place – a burnt piece of metal in a funnel.

—​ How do you assess the option of a possible evacuation?

– It’s scary for the kids. They have nothing to do here. I would take the women too. The men must stay. Guys are acting differently now. Someone went to take their families away from here, but basically everyone works, joins the local defense, some volunteered for the army. But there is a feeling that the city is slowly emptying…

In turn, the press service of the governor of the Belgorod region Vyacheslav Gladkov said that there are no plans to evacuate the population of the Shebekinsky district yet. “At the moment, there is no talk of evacuation,” the press service of the head of the region answered the question of “MK”.

Now, in a planned manner, 300 schoolchildren from the Shebekinsky district have been transported to the recreation camp “Landysh” in the Voronezh region for summer holidays. According to the statement of the head of the Shebekinsky urban district, Vladimir Zhdanov, local authorities understand the fears of the population and are ready to assist in placing children and adults outside the district. Travel, organization of accommodation and provision of food by the authorities take over.

Read the material “Residents of Shebekino described the hell arranged by Ukrainians: children are sent to Voronezh”

Published in the newspaper “Moskovsky Komsomolets” No. 29041 dated June 1, 2023

Newspaper headline:
“No sense of security”