Vyacheslav Gladkov, Russia‘s Belgorod governor, declared a regionwide state of emergency on Wednesday amid the incessant attacks by the Ukrainian forces.
“The situation in the Belgorod region continues to be extremely difficult and tense,” Gladkov said in a video posted on the Telegram messaging app, according to news agency Reuters.
Gladkov claimed that daily shelling by the Ukrainian armed forces had razed houses, killing and wounding civilians, he added.
“Therefore, we are making a decision, starting today, to declare a regional emergency situation throughout the Belgorodd region … with a subsequent appeal to the government to declare a federal emergency situation,” the governor said.
A few days ago, Russia declared a “federal-level” emergency in the Kursk region following a large-scale incursion from Ukraine.
This move came after hundreds of Ukrainian troops crossed the border in what appeared to be Kyiv’s biggest attack on Russian soil since the war began.
Simultaneously, a Russian plane-launched missile struck a Ukrainian shopping mall, resulting in deaths and injuries.
A missile hit the mall in Kostiantynivka, located in the eastern Donetsk region, killing at least 11 people and wounding 44 others, according to authorities
.The attack occurred in the town’s residential area, with thick black smoke rising above the mall after the strike. “This is another targeted attack on a crowded place, another act of terror by the Russians,” said Donetsk regional head Vadym Filashkin in a Telegram post.
Last September, Kostiantynivka experienced another major strike when a Russian missile hit an outdoor market there, killing 17 people. Russia’s defense ministry announced that reinforcements were en route to the Kursk region to counter the Ukrainian incursion.
The reinforcement includes multiple rocket launchers, towed artillery guns, tanks on trailers, and heavy tracked vehicles, according to the RIA-Novosti news agency citing the defense ministry.
Earlier, in a televised address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy indirectly referred to the assault, emphasising the need to increase pressure on Russia.
“The more pressure is exerted on Russia — the aggressor that brought war to Ukraine — the closer peace will be,” he said.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, calling it a “special military operation” and ever since an armed conflict has been going on between both the neighbouring nations.