INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The governor of Russia's Belgorod region bordering Ukraine said Tuesday that public access to 14 border villages will be restricted due to
constant bombardment.The announcement came after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a May ground offensive on Ukraine's northeastern
Kharkiv region that he said was intended to create a buffer zone to protect the Belgorod region from shelling.The region has instead seen
continued shelling and drone attacks from Ukraine, with frequent fatalities among residents."From July 23 we are restricting access to 14
residential settlements where the operational situation is extremely difficult," Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram.He
listed 14 villages and hamlets near the border with Ukraine."Checkpoints will be set up on access roads and representatives of law
enforcement will be on duty there.""Access to public transport including taxis will be banned," he added."We will allow in only adult men
by military," the governor said.He added that it was "unacceptable to allow women and children into residential settlements that are shelled
every day."Gladkov said that the military would guard people's homes."We will start implementing this from next Tuesday," he added, without
giving any end date for the measures.Gladkov did not say that all residents would have to leave the areas, but said those who left would be
able to claim a monthly payment for renting elsewhere."I hope, dear friends, you will be understanding about this decision," he told
residents, conceding: "of course we don't expect any positive responses.""But the main thing is a person's life
We have already lost a lot of peaceful residents, we have a lot of wounded," he said"Our task is to take maximum security measures," Gladkov
the start of what Moscow calls its "special military operation" in February 2022.
