The measure is taken “for safety”.
The Russian region of Belgorod, bordering Ukraine and targeted by multiple Ukrainian attacks, is closing its shopping centers, its governor Vyacheslav Gladkov announced on Thursday.
“The most important thing is the question of security.
You have made numerous calls for the closure of shopping centers.
We have already done it: they are closing,” he said on Telegram.
Fighting on the border between Russia and Ukraine is underway on Thursday.
A new drone attack targeted the Russian region of Belgorod, killing at least two people, a few hours before the opening of polling stations for the presidential election.
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Russian presidential election: Putin calls for people to show “patriotism” and come vote
Armed incursions and air raids have increased in recent days, sometimes far from Ukraine, and come as Russians are called to the polls from March 15 to 17 for a vote intended to triumphantly re-elect Vladimir Putin.
This Thursday, Ukraine called on the international community to reject the result of the Russian presidential election, calling the vote a “farce”.
Civilians called to evacuate
The Russian National Guard (Rosgvardia) said Thursday it was fighting alongside border guards and soldiers to “counter an attack by enemy diversionary groups near the town of Tiotkino” in the Kursk region.
Offensives against this border village carried out by units coming from Ukraine and claiming to be composed of anti-Kremlin Russians had already taken place on Tuesday.
Moscow claimed to have repelled them and to have decimated the attackers.
The “Freedom of Russia Legion”, one of the groups behind previous armed incursions, called on Thursday for the evacuation of civilians in this area and promised to “liberate the Russian regions” of Belgorod and Kursk.
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For its part, the Russian Defense Ministry published an undated video purporting to show the defeat of forces attempting to infiltrate Russia.
Strong explosions and tanks are visible in these images presented as having been filmed in the Belgorod region, but whose location cannot be authenticated.