near the border with Ukraine, the incomprehension of Russian civilians who “begin to realize what is happening”

In Russia, the situation is still very tense in the Belgorod region, on the Ukrainian border now bombarded daily in recent days by troops from kyiv. It is in the town of Chebekino, 30 km south of Belgorod that the situation is the most worrying for the Russian authorities, who do not always have the situation in the border area under control.

>> LIVE. Find here the latest developments on the war in Ukraine

Because contrary to what the Kremlin explains, it is not only a few villages that are occasionally bombarded in the Belgorod region: it is also a city of 40,000 inhabitants, Chebekino, which has become in a few days almost a ghost town. , emptied of its inhabitants. There would only be 200 to 300 left on the spot. All the factories are at a standstill, there is no more water, gas or electricity because of the bombardments by the Ukrainian army and the incursions of pro-Ukrainian Russian groups. Oleg, who helps the last residents who want to leave the city, confirms that “The city emptied in the blink of an eye. People left in slippers, without taking jeans or shoes. Most of their papers remained.”

In the city of Belgorod, about thirty kilometers away, the area is cordoned off, forbidden to foreign journalists. But the images and the testimonies accumulate: there, thousands of fleeing inhabitants arrive, taken care of as best they can by overwhelmed humanitarian associations. In Belgorod, we have seen in recent months a large number of Ukrainian refugees who were fleeing from the Russian side; it is now Russian refugees who are arriving. A shock in this city of 300,000 inhabitants.

The shocked and bitter refugees

The Chebekino refugees, many in town, are shocked and angry. Shocked because the shelling seems to have been quite intense and many left their homes without taking anything. Some feel they will not be able to return. A woman confides her fear that Chebekino will become a second Mariupol. And then these inhabitants are angry for many against the Russian federal state, unable to protect them.

“We never heard any support, even on TV. We always hear about Donetsk, Lugansk or Kherson. But what about us?”

Anastasia, resident of Chebekino

at franceinfo

The army should have repelled these attacks, should have been better prepared, some say. Others say they do not understand why the Ukrainians are attacking the civilian population. Svetlana, met in a reception center, says: “The Ukrainian army is shooting at civilians. There are no soldiers in Chebekino, no strategic objectives, only houses! We don’t understand why we are being shot at.” She thus explains, with a convinced and outraged air, that the Russian army only targets military objectives. She is not the only one: another resident, who does not display pro-Kremlin feelings, however, takes about the same speech.

It is as if some people in Russia are beginning to realize what has been going on for over a year now in Ukraine. As one Belgorod resident who is not outright pro-Kremlin told us: “Some are realizing what is happening in Ukraine.”