The governor of Russia’s Belgorod area mentioned a number of areas can be closed to most civilians.
Russia has denied its floor offensive on Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv area is failing after an official mentioned he would seal off border villages to defend them from Ukrainian shelling.
Belgorod’s regional governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, mentioned on Tuesday that civilian entry to 14 Russian border villages can be restricted given the continuing depth of the assaults.
Requested if this meant that the Kharkiv operation had failed, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov mentioned on Wednesday: “No, it doesn’t.”
“This operation is ongoing, it should proceed till it has been efficiently accomplished,” he informed reporters.
“However whereas it has not been accomplished, barbaric assaults by the Kyiv regime on civilian infrastructure proceed. To be able to take the required measures to make sure the protection of the inhabitants, new practices are being launched,” he mentioned.
In Could, Russia launched a surprise attack on Kharkiv, which neighbours Russia’s Belgorod area, in a bid to push Ukrainian forces again and set up what Russian President Vladimir Putin referred to as a “buffer zone”.
However the Institute for the Research of Warfare, a United States think-tank, mentioned Ukrainian forces are largely holding again the Russian push round Kharkiv metropolis.
Metropolis officers introduced on Wednesday that they may construct a sequence of underground faculties to guard youngsters from Russian shelling.
Asserting the protection measures, Belgorod’s governor mentioned that greater than 200 individuals had been killed and tons of extra wounded within the area as a result of Ukrainian shelling.
He mentioned entry to the border space can be restricted from subsequent Tuesday, with solely grownup males sporting bullet-proof vests and helmets permitted to cross by means of checkpoints.
“I hope you’ll agree that it’s unacceptable to let girls and youngsters into settlements which might be shelled day-after-day,” Gladkov mentioned.
Final week, Ukrainian strikes within the Belgorod area additionally killed 4 individuals in a 24-hour interval and injured 20 others.
Ukraine has argued that it’s justified in its responses to Russia’s assaults and elevated focusing on of Russian territory all through the battle. Ukraine was additionally pressured to scramble troops to bolster the realm after Russia launched its new offensive.
Prisoner swaps
But, on Wednesday, each international locations exchanged 95 prisoners of struggle (POWs) every, mentioned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russia’s Ministry of Defence.
The swap was the 54th since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and it was brokered by the United Arab Emirates.
We proceed to carry our individuals residence. One other 95 defenders have been free of Russian captivity. These are warriors of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Nationwide Guard, and the border guards.
I’m grateful to our crew chargeable for the exchanges and to the United Arab… pic.twitter.com/ozVW5wQ1Ie
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 17, 2024
Neither facet has disclosed what number of POWs there are in whole, however they’ve carried out periodic prisoner swaps through intermediaries for the reason that struggle started almost two years in the past, regardless of the absence of any peace talks.
