Russia evacuates children from border villages amid ‘alarming’ situation
Russia says it has started evacuating children from border villages amid a “worsening” situation as Ukraine prepares for a major offensive against Moscow’s forces.
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Russia has announced that it has started evacuating hundreds of children from villages due to intensifying shelling in border regions where the situation was deemed “alarming” by the Kremlin.
Russia has seen stepped-up attacks on its soil over a year into its Ukraine campaign, with an unprecedented incursion last week in the southern region of Belgorod and a drone attack on Moscow on Tuesday.
“We are starting today to evacuate children from the Shebekino and Graivoron districts,” regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram, referring to the most affected border areas.
The governor said the first 300 children will be taken to Voronezh, a city around 250 kilometres further into Russia.
A correspondent for state-run agency RIA Novosti near Voronezh said buses had arrived with around 150 people on board.
Mr Gladkov said the situation was “worsening” in the village of Shebekino, where he reported more shelling during the day, but without casualties.
He had posted photos of the aftermath of an early morning strike, with blackened burned cars lying in the grass near a playground, and a rocket that had apparently landed on a road.
“Nobody, thank God, died,” Mr Gladkov said, adding that the strike injured four people.
On Tuesday one person was killed and two others were wounded in a Ukrainian strike on a centre for displaced people in the region.
The attacks have come as Kyiv says it is preparing for a major offensive against Moscow’s forces.
“The situation is quite alarming,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said when asked about shelling in the region.
“We have not heard a single word of condemnation from the West so far”. Several oil depots have been hit in recent weeks.
On Wednesday, authorities in the southern Krasnodar region said a drone hit the Ilsky oil refinery, in an area already hit twice since the beginning of May.
The Kremlin has accused Ukraine - and its Western backers - of being behind the increasing number of reported attacks.
On Tuesday, the foreign ministry said the West was “pushing the Ukrainian leadership towards increasingly reckless acts” after a drone attack on residential areas in Moscow.
DRONE ATTACK ON MOSCOW ‘WORST SINCE WWII’
Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed that Ukraine is trying to “frighten” Russians after Moscow and the surrounding region were hit by eight drones in an unprecedented attack blamed on Kyiv.
“We have spoken about hitting command centres (in Ukraine),” Mr Putin said on Tuesday.
“In response, the Kyiv regime has chosen a different path, the path of trying to frighten Russia, frighten the citizens of Russia and of strikes on residential buildings.”
Ukraine has denied direct involvement with Tuesday’s drone attack on Moscow, after Russia targeted Kyiv for the third night running, with Ukrainian officials saying at least one person had been killed and more than 20 drones destroyed.
Russian politician Oleg Nilov later doubled down on the accusations and issued a chilling threat to Ukraine, which Moscow has been invading for more than a year.
“Moscow was subject to a drone attack by the Ukrainian terrorist state,” he said.
“Our response can be made from all available options of the Russian Armed Forces – tactical nuclear weapons won’t stay shelved for too long.”
In a statement, Russia’s foreign ministry said it “reserves the right to take the harshest possible measures in response to the terrorist attacks by the Kyiv regime”.
It also criticised the West, saying assurances by NATO officials that Kyiv would not launch “strikes deep into Russian territory” have proven “to be completely hypocritical”.
Russian politician Maxim Ivanov called it the most serious assault on Moscow since Nazi Germany’s invasion in World War Two, saying no Russian could now avoid “the new reality”.
Mr Putin said on Russian television that Moscow’s air defence had worked well during a drone attack on the capital.
“Moscow’s air defence system worked normally, satisfactorily, although there is some work to do,” he added.
Russia’s Ministry of Defence said Kyiv was also at fault for what it called a “terrorist attack” that involved eight aircraft-type UAVs which were shot down or diverted earlier in the morning.
“All enemy UAVs were destroyed,” the defence ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
“Three of them were suppressed by electronic warfare, lost control and deviated from their intended targets.
“Another five UAVs were shot down by the Pantsir-S surface-to-air missile system in the Moscow region.”
Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak denied the accusations.
“Of course, we enjoy watching and predicting an increase in attacks. But of course, we have nothing to do directly with it,” he said.
Mr Podolyak told the Breakfast Show YouTube channel: “What is growing in Russia is the karmic payment that Russia will gradually pay in aggravated form for everything it does in Ukraine.”
The governor of the Moscow region, Andrey Vorobyov, said on Telegram that the explosions residents heard in the early hours was “our air defence in action.”
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said later Tuesday there’s currently “no threat” to Moscow’s residents, following the alleged drone attack.
RUSSIA REPORTS DRONE ATTACKS IN MOSCOW
A swarm of drones hit Moscow on Tuesday in an unprecedented attack, while Russian drones struck Kyiv for a third straight day as Ukraine gears up for a major offensive against Russian forces.
The Russian defence ministry blamed Kyiv for the attacks that saw three drones crash into residential buildings in Moscow.
Officials said no one was seriously injured and there was only “minor” damage to buildings.
The Russian defence ministry said that eight drones were used in the attack, adding that five of them were downed and three disabled.
Of the three that hit residential buildings, two crashed into high-rises located in Moscow’s affluent southwest, while a third damaged a residential building in a suburb of the capital.
The other drones fell outside Moscow. Some of the debris was found around 15 kilometres from President Vladimir Putin’s Novo-Ogaryovo residence.
One video shared on social media showed an explosion followed by a column of smoke rising into the sky.
Two drones were intercepted over the Kremlin earlier this month but Tuesday’s attack was the first time that unmanned aerial vehicles hit residential areas of Moscow, hundreds of kilometres from the front lines in Ukraine.
The raids are likely to be seen as a psychological blow and a major embarrassment for the Kremlin, which has gone to great lengths to say the protracted conflict in Ukraine does not pose a threat to Russians.
The Kremlin insisted that there was no “threat” to Russians, adding that Putin was being informed of the attacks in “real time”.
The incident comes weeks after two drones exploded over the Kremlin – an attack Russia has blamed on Ukraine although Kyiv has denied responsibility – and follows intense Russian drone and missile strikes on Ukrainian cities this month.
‘NO FEAR’
Moscow also said it believed the attack was a “response” by Kyiv to a recent Russian hit in Ukraine.
“It is completely clear that we are talking about response acts by the Kyiv regime to very effective strikes on a command centre (in Ukraine),” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, without clarifying where the Russian strike took place.
Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin said two people had sought medical assistance after the raid but “no-one has suffered serious injuries”.
The residents of buildings damaged in the strikes were briefly evacuated.
On Profsoyuznaya Street, a residential building with a blown-out window was cordoned off by police but the atmosphere was calm, with children playing outside and locals walking their dogs, an AFP correspondent saw.
Some of the residents were moved to a nearby school, where they drank tea and watched a Soviet-era movie.
Valentin Yemelyanov, a 50-year-old IT worker, who lives on the same street but closer towards the centre of Moscow, said there was “no fear or panic”.
“The damage is minimal,” he told AFP. He said he was “not surprised” by the drone attack, given the escalation of the conflict.
“It is obvious that things are going this way.” Muscovites told Russian journalists that a drone had also crashed into an apartment on the 14th floor of a high-rise on Leninsky Prospekt but did not explode.
Also on Tuesday, Ukraine said it had downed 29 out of 31 drones, mainly over Kyiv and the Kyiv region in the latest Russian barrage — the third on the capital in 24 hours.
On Monday, Russia fired a barrage of missiles at Kyiv, sending panicked residents running for shelter in an unusual daytime attack on the Ukrainian capital following overnight strikes.
The latest barrages landed as the Ukrainian capital was still recovering from an overnight Saturday drone attack, the biggest since Russia began its campaign in Ukraine in February last year.
Kyiv received its first shipments of the American-made Patriot surface-to-air missile system in April, and US President Joe Biden on Monday suggested more aid was to come.
Asked about Russia’s fierce attacks on Kyiv, Biden told reporters, “It’s not unexpected,” adding: “That’s why we’ve got to continue to give Ukraine all that it needs.” Kyiv has been preparing an offensive, although its timing and focus have been the subject of months of speculation.
PLEA FOR AUSSIE TANKS
Ukraine’s defence minister has pleaded with Australia to send tanks and Hawkei armoured vehicles to the frontline in their fight against Russian forces.
In a video posted on Twitter, Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said that Australian-made Bushmaster armoured vehicles “have been incredible in real combat operations.”
“Dear Australian friends, throughout history you have repeatedly proven that Australians are a nation of freedom-loving warriors who always stand up to a bully,” Mr Reznikov said.
“You are 15,000 kilometres away, yet we are very close in our shared values and readiness to defend them. That’s why during the first months of the Russian aggression Australia was the largest contributor to Ukraine outside of NATO.”
Dear Australian friends,
— Oleksii Reznikov (@oleksiireznikov) May 28, 2023
Throughout history you have repeatedly proven that Australians are a nation of freedom-loving warriors who always stand up to a bully.
You are 15 thousand kilometers away, yet we are very close in our shared values and readiness to defend them.
That's… pic.twitter.com/SXeQ77dH1C
Australia has donated 90 Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicles to Ukraine as part of a military assistance package amounting to $510 million since last year’s Russian invasion.
“Our fight for global freedom is not over yet and we still need your support. I encourage you today to join the international tank coalition for Ukraine,” Mr Reznikov said.
“In addition to tanks, we would be honoured to receive the Australian Hawkies. They could prove invaluable to our troops during the counteroffensive.”
On Monday, Defence Minister Richard Marles said Australia is standing “shoulder to shoulder” with Ukraine.
However, he refused to go into detail on what Australia would provide as the conversation was currently being held with the war-torn nation.
“We’re working very closely with the Ukrainian government; I spoke with my counterpart in the last few weeks about ways in which we can continue that support,” Mr Marles told Sky News Australia.
“Ukraine has provided us with a menu of options if you like … which would make a difference for them.
“But they absolutely understand that we are committed to their calls and that we’re going to stand with them shoulder to shoulder for as long as it takes so that they can resolve this conflict on their terms.
‘PLAYING WITH FIRE’: RUSSIA’S CHILLING WARNING TO WEST
Russia’s top diplomat has warned that Western nations are “playing with fire” by agreeing to provide Ukraine with US-made F-16 fighter jets, calling it “an unacceptable escalation” of the conflict.
“It’s playing with fire, without a doubt,” Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an excerpt from a Russian TV interview posted on social media, denouncing an attempt to “weaken Russia” by “Washington, London and their satellites in the EU”.
The recent show of support for Ukraine from the West has lit a flame under Moscow, with fresh bombings levelled on civilians to begin the week.
On Monday, a series of explosions rang out in Kyiv, as authorities told residents to seek shelter after another night of Russian strikes on the Ukrainian capital.
Authorities in the western city of Khmelnytsky said Russian forces also attacked a military facility overnight and damaged five aircraft.
Russia fired a barrage of missiles at Kyiv, sending panicked residents running for shelter in train stations in an unusual daytime attack on the Ukrainian capital following overnight strikes.
Authorities said Ukrainian air defences had downed every Russian missile launched against the Kyiv region.
“A total of 11 missiles were fired: ‘Iskander-M’ and ‘Iskander-K’ from a northerly direction,” Ukraine’s armed forces chief Valery Zaluzhny said.
“All the targets were destroyed by air defences,” he added.
Mayor Vitali Klitschko, a former professional boxer, posted a picture of flaming debris that had landed on a busy highway and urged residents to take shelter.
Russia has launched 16 air attacks on Kyiv this month.
However, the BBC reported, Monday’s attack was unusual because it took place during daylight hours and it seemed to be targeted at the centre of the city.
All other air assaults so far in May have taken place at night and appeared to be directed at infrastructure and air defences on the outskirts, the BBC reported.
KYIV HIT BY ‘LARGEST’ DRONE ATTACK OF WAR
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has praised his country’s air defence forces, after the capital Kyiv saw the largest drone attack since the beginning of the Russian invasion.
The overnight attack killed two people and wounded three others.
The latest drone attack came as Russia intensified aerial strikes on the capital this month, and warned the West against escalating the conflict after the United States agreed to green light F-16 deliveries.
Ukraine said the latest attack in Kyiv was the largest of the invasion, with around 40 out of more than 50 drones targeting the capital.
“Most of the destruction was averted, and most of the lives that could have been taken by these Shaheds (drones) were saved,” Mr Zelenskyy said in his daily evening address on Sunday.
“I am grateful to each and every person who made it possible! … Thank you warriors!” he said.
It was the “most important” assault by drones on Kyiv since the start of the invasion, but nearly all were destroyed, military authorities said.
Forty of the 54 drones launched targeted the capital.
The attack “took place over several waves and the air raid alert lasted more than five hours” it said.
“According to preliminary reports more than 40 Russian drones were destroyed by air defence” systems over Kyiv, the administration added.
This was the 14th drone attack on the Ukrainian capital by Russia this month.
“People are in shock. There’s a lot of damage, the windows were broken, the roof was damaged,” said Sergei Movchan, a 50-year-old resident whose house was damaged by debris.
A fire broke out in a warehouse zone sending flames shooting 1000m into the sky and also injuring one person, the administration said.
“The emergency services are at all the sites,” regional authorities said in a statement.
Near a petrol station in the Solomianskii area, a 41-year-old man died and a 35-year-old woman was wounded and hospitalised, said Kyiv’s mayor Vitali Klitschko.
The mayor described the assault as “massive” with drones “arriving from several directions at once”.
Sunday was to be celebrated as the capital’s special day, prompting authorities to make an ironic statement: “Today the enemy decided to ‘congratulate’ the population on Kyiv Day with the help of their killer drones”.
The 54 attack drones were launched “from the regions of Briansk and Krasnodar” in Russia, said the air force, adding that 52 were destroyed.
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Originally published as Russia evacuates children from border villages amid ‘alarming’ situation
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