Report of the correspondent of “Kommersant” from Shebekino an hour before the closure of the entrance to the area

On Friday, the authorities of the Belgorod region introduced a complete ban on movement on the roads of the border Shebekinsky district. An hour before, a Kommersant correspondent visited Shebekino Alexander Chernykh. He saw an empty city, burning buildings, Russian military and residents who did not want to evacuate until the last

On Friday afternoon, the governor of the Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, reported that Ukrainian troops fired on a “section of the road” in the village of Maslova Pristan. According to him, two women died. Maslova Pristan is only a twenty-minute leisurely drive from Belgorod; middle of the way to Shebekino. After reading this message, my colleagues and I decided to put on body armor already at the exit from Belgorod, in the “pocket” at the bus stop. They pulled out the “armor” and began to help each other tighten the belts. To be honest, next to peaceful minibuses, this seemed like a stupid reinsurance – exactly until the moment when a military armored car with the letters Z and V on the body drove along the road. He signaled approvingly. He was heading the same way as we were.

Ten minutes, fifteen – the road to Shebekino is empty. We slipped through Maslova Pier; on the “ring” of the route, a fresh funnel from the projectile is really visible. After it, our driver sharply increases the speed to one hundred kilometers per hour. Suddenly a car overtakes us; she runs even faster. On the side of the road I notice a billboard “Slow down, they’ll be waiting for you at home.” But peacetime rules don’t work here anymore.

Two columns of smoke rise above Shebekino: thick black puffs on the left and dull white on the right. There are several fire trucks on the outskirts – they are in no hurry to call in. Apparently, they are afraid of possible shelling. Through the empty streets we drive towards the source of the white smoke. It turns out that this beautiful two-story house is burning down. There are a lot of signs on it: “Lawyer”, “Satellite TV”, “Sphere”, OZON… The second floor has already burned out. Flames are raging in the windows, you can’t get close – your face is covered with heat. Nearby, coals burn out between the flower beds. It is very quiet outside – you can hear something cracking inside the house.

I look at this house, at the bright signs, and remember the spring of 2022. I remember how I walked along the streets of Mariupol and thought that before the outbreak of hostilities it was indistinguishable from dozens of Russian cities, where on the first floors there are exactly the same pharmacies, flower shops, beer bottling shops and bank branches. Then I was afraid to think that I could see houses burned down from shells in other cities. Now I really see them.

A man in military uniform, but without insignia, walks along an empty street. “Guys, don’t shoot me,” he dismisses. “And let’s be more careful around here. Grads are working in the city. He leaves, and I repeat his last phrase to myself. Grads are working in the Russian city.

We’re moving on. It’s amazing how Shebekino is a beautiful and well-groomed city. At least on the main streets. The trees are whitewashed, the curbs are painted, there is no garbage on the sidewalks … And there are no people yet. And shop windows are littered with sandbags. Now it is the most popular architectural element in Shebekino. Bakery “Native Spaces” – at the windows of the barricade of bags. “Brotherly shawarma” is a stack of wooden pallets, and bags are piled on top of them. “Perfume – cosmetics – household chemicals” – a whole fortress wall of bags. “Zoomir”, “Autoenamels”, “Plumbing”, “Mnogozamkoff” – only signs are visible everywhere, and under them are bags, bags, bags … Bus stops are also littered with bags – in fact, a very correct decision: in the event of shelling, at least some – a shelter for passers-by.

A column of black smoke rises somewhere from the private sector. We are looking for its source, we drive very close – and we see a man and a woman, spouses of about sixty. They calmly look at the smoke.

Have you seen the firefighters? the woman asks us. “We kind of called, but they don’t come for some reason …

– We saw them standing on the outskirts. Why aren’t you leaving?

“Yes, we were leaving, and we have already arrived. You know, we went to the village, sat there … and decided that it was better at home.

I ask how long it has been burning here.

– Yes, that’s how the last arrived … These “Grads” … – she thinks and continues: – About half an hour …

“Listen, how do you talk about it so calmly? – I can not stand it. – I feel very uncomfortable here …

“You know, we’ve been getting nightmares for so many people here already …” the woman sighs. (meaning the sabotage raid in May 2023.— “b”). And they continue…

“Well, then my heart sank a little when it exploded three in a row,” her husband admits.

“You ask if we’re afraid… We’ll lie down on the floor and wait,” the woman says. “The probability of a shell hit is very small, after all. Pah-pah-pah, good luck!

She knocks on wood.

“The whistle is so growing…” her husband repeats.

Suddenly, the column of smoke becomes thicker, it even blocks out the sun. It gets dark all around. We are all looking at the sky.

– What is on fire?

“Once there was a factory there,” the woman answers. “They produced such straps with the letter “sha”. Well, you don’t remember them, of course. And then how everything fell apart – since then there have been private workshops. They are doing something there.

A good-natured pot-bellied man is walking down the street. “I’m for bread,” he says to the woman. She nods and walks into the house. The man turns to us and introduces himself: “Nikolai.”

Nikolai, why aren’t you leaving?

– Well, where am I … – he waves his hand vaguely, trying to find words. – I have two cats. Dog. Hens. Who will I throw them on? There is no neighbor, he calls: go feed the animals, please, they will die. Well, I’ll leave – who will feed his animals? Who will feed me? Well, no one to leave. Where are they? Kill? You won’t kill…

“Guys, it’s true, the probability of getting hit is small,” the woman returned with a loaf of black bread and reassures Nikolai, us and herself.

“My wife is sitting in Belgorod,” Nikolai continues. “But there is no bread, that’s the trouble. There is no light, the refrigerator will melt now, everything will be lost. It stinks. And the chickens will disappear, and the sausage…

“Kolya, when you come home, put everything in the freezer,” the woman instructs him. “The freezer keeps cold for three days.

Are the shops closed for a long time?

“Yesterday I drove through the whole city, everything is closed,” says Nikolai. “In Belgorod, of course, everything is there, but who will go there. It’s scary, the road is probably shot through. I’m afraid to go there.

– Wait, that is, you are not afraid to stay in Shebekino, but are you afraid to go to Belgorod?

– Well, God saves the safe… So I’ll stay. I have enough loaf for two days.

Nikolai turns to the woman:

– Thank you. I’ll give it back later.

“Oh, stop it,” she waves away. “He decided to give away the bread…

We are silent and look at the smoke.

– Guys, what do you hear there? When will all this bullshit end? the woman asks us.

“Looks like it won’t be soon.

– I mean here at least, in Belgorodskaya …

She is interrupted by an air defense explosion. I wince.

“These are ours,” the woman reassures me. He sighs and repeats: “These are ours.

In 20 minutes we again passed Maslova Pristan. Behind her is a police checkpoint that completely blocked the road to Shebekino. While we were in the city, the authorities of the region completely banned traffic in the Shebekinsky district.

Alexander Chernykh, Belgorod-Shebekino