Russian town near Ukraine border calls for evacuation amid intense fighting

Authorities in the Russian town of Graivoron near the Ukrainian border called for evacuation from Belgorod Oblast. The head of the Graivoron district administration, Gennady Bondarev, urged people to temporarily leave the area.  

“I appeal to those who remain in the district. The situation continues to remain tense. I ask you to make the right decision and temporarily leave the territory of the municipal district,” he wrote on Telegram.

He said the Yaroslavl Oblast of Russia is prepared to accept evacuees.

Graivoron, with a pre-war population over 6,000, is just 5km from Ukraine’s Kharkiv and Sumy oblasts. The town and surrounding district have faced regular shelling. On 20 March, Russian authorities reported that two residents were killed in another shelling of Graivoron.

The Belgorod governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, announced plans to set up checkpoints in seven border settlements staffed by security forces. These include Kozinka, Glotovo, Gora-Podil, and Graivoron itself. Gladkov also said 9,000 children would be evacuated from the region. 

A battle in the village of Kozinka in Russia's Belgorod Oblast has been publicized by the Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK).

Anti-Kremlin fighters entered from Ukraine a week ago, clashing with Russian troops. Reportedly 16 people have been killed and about 100 injured. pic.twitter.com/97yHvyr3ou

— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) March 19, 2024

Recent days have seen fighting in the border town of Kozinka, which Russia claims to control.

Video shows Russian fighters from the Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK), who entered from Ukraine, battling Russian troops.

In the footage, a failed Russian assault on an RDK-held building results in one Russian soldier killing a comrade with a grenade.

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