The governor of Russia’s Belgorod area mentioned a number of areas could 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 protect them from Ukrainian shelling.
Belgorod’s regional governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, mentioned on Tuesday that civilian entry to 14 Russian border villages could 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 advised reporters.
“However whereas it has not been accomplished, barbaric assaults by the Kyiv regime on civilian infrastructure proceed. With a view to take the mandatory measures to make sure the protection of the inhabitants, new practices are being launched,” he mentioned.
In Could, Russia launched a shock assault on Kharkiv, which neighbours Russia’s Belgorod area, in a bid to push Ukrainian forces again and set up what Russian President Vladimir Putin known as a “buffer zone”.
However the Institute for the Research of Conflict, 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 are going to construct a collection of underground faculties to guard kids from Russian shelling.
Saying the protection measures, Belgorod’s governor mentioned that greater than 200 individuals had been killed and a whole bunch extra wounded within the area as a consequence of Ukrainian shelling.
He mentioned entry to the border space could be restricted from subsequent Tuesday, with solely grownup males sporting bullet-proof vests and helmets permitted to move by means of checkpoints.
“I hope you’ll agree that it’s unacceptable to let ladies and kids into settlements which are 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 concentrating on of Russian territory all through the battle. Ukraine was additionally pressured to scramble troops to strengthen the world after Russia launched its new offensive.
Prisoner swaps
But, on Wednesday, each nations 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 deliver our individuals dwelling. 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 workforce answerable for the exchanges and to the United Arab… pic.twitter.com/ozVW5wQ1Ie
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 17, 2024
Neither aspect has disclosed what number of POWs there are in complete, however they’ve carried out periodic prisoner swaps through intermediaries because the struggle started practically two years in the past, regardless of the absence of any peace talks.
