Russian authorities are blocking the evacuation of civilians from Russia’s Belgorod Oblast amid a border breach by Russian anti-Kremlin militia, using residents as a “human shield,” Andrii Yusov, a representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, said on 14 March.
On 12 March, the coalition of Russian battalions fighting alongside Ukraine reported that they had entered Russia’s border territory to liberate it from the “criminal dictatorial regime” in the Russian Federation.
Yusov, speaking on a telethon, confirmed this information based on intercepted communications between Russian security forces as well as between local residents. These communications indicate that “security forces surround transportation hubs, there are roadblocks, and threats are being made.”
Despite the blockade, Yusov noted that evacuation is still being carried out in some areas, including the town of Grayvoron on the border with Ukraine.
The anti-Kremlin battalions have repeatedly urged residents of the Belgorod and Kursk oblasts to evacuate as they were “forced to strike at military positions located in the cities of Belgorod and Kursk.”
“We call on the local authorities to save human lives and start evacuating the cities of Kursk and Belgorod oblasts,” they said.
Currently, according to the Freedom of Russia Legion’s reports, fighting is ongoing in the village of Tyotkino, despite earlier claims of militia control over the village.
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