Russia evacuates 9,000 children from Belgorod region amid shelling
Amid ongoing shelling, authorities in Russia's Belgorod region have decided to evacuate approximately 9,000 children to other parts of the country, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov announced during a meeting of the presidium of the United Russia party on Tuesday, March 19.
"We are currently relocating a significant number of villages. We are planning to evacuate around 9,000 children from Belgorod, the Belgorod district, the Shebekinsky district, and the Grayvoron district. On March 22, 1,200 children will head to Penza, Tambov, and Kaluga. The next destination is the Stavropol Territory. The system is in place," TASS agency cites Gladkov.
On March 19, Belgorod and its surroundings were once again subjected to shelling, Gladkov reported. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the attack was carried out by the Ukrainian side using a multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) Vampire.
"Air defense forces destroyed nine rockets over the Belgorod region," the ministry stated on Telegram.
Meanwhile, local residents shared photos and videos on social media depicting, as the posts suggest, the aftermath of the bombardments. From these images, it appears that at least one rocket hit the yard of a multi-storey residential building in Belgorod, damaging several parked cars.
Governor Gladkov informed on Telegram about three people injured during the latest shelling: "In the settlement of Razumnoe, as a result of shrapnel hitting a private house, two people were injured: a 14-year-old teenager suffered a partial amputation of his upper limb, shrapnel wounds to the chest and left lower limb. His mother sustained shrapnel wounds to the neck, abdomen, and lower limbs. Both are in serious condition. Another woman in the settlement was injured while she was on the street, with shrapnel wounds to her upper and lower limbs. Doctors at the regional children's clinical hospital and city hospital No. 2 are providing all necessary medical care to the injured."
"Preliminary data indicates that in the settlement of Razumnoe, 10 private residences, several apartments in 5 residential buildings, along with a school and a kindergarten, had windows blown out. Additionally, 13 vehicles were damaged, three of which burned out," the governor added.
Voronezh mayor Vadim Kstenin also reported a drone attack during the night, writing that glazing in the entrances and flats of two residential buildings was damaged in the Levoberezhny district of the city, as well as several vehicles and two non-residential buildings. He later added that glazing of several windows in one preschool institution was also affected.
There are no reports of casualties or injuries in Voronezh.