Soap, detergent, tissues, toys and children’s clothes: Irina Burlakova has just received humanitarian aid after fleeing Chebekino, a Russian town bordering Ukraine subjected to a deluge of deadly fire this week.
Thousands of inhabitants of Chebekino took refuge in Belgorod, the regional capital located about thirty kilometers to the northwest. On site, volunteers organize themselves to provide them with basic necessities.
“Obviously, we’re in a terrible state. But we’re holding on, we’re trying to be strong, because we have children, it makes you want to live. But what’s going to happen next? Good Of course, we don’t know,” says Irina Burlakova.
This 30-year-old woman left Chebekino with her husband and son. They lived in the center of the city hit in recent days by artillery fire of an intensity unprecedented since the start of the Russian offensive in Ukraine. According to the authorities, these shootings killed at least seven people in the region on Friday and Saturday.
Irina received humanitarian aid in the “Centre for Youth Initiatives” in Belgorod, run by local authorities. On Saturday, dozens of displaced people and volunteers were busy there around large boxes filled with products.
“You have to understand that it can happen to each of us, you have to show a little kindness,” said Oleg Tcherkachine, 37, a resident of Belgorod who came to donate products that can be used for the displaced.
“I want to help people who are in a difficult situation, we are really short of arms,” ??notes Victoria Kovaleva, a 26-year-old volunteer helping to collect and distribute humanitarian aid.
At the entrance to the Center, a large Russian flag hangs. There is also an imposing poster showing a hooded Russian soldier, drawn as a cartoon character, with the inscriptions “Belgorod” and “Glory to the anti-aircraft defense!” behind him.
For several months, the Belgorod region and its capital have been hit by drone attacks and gunfire attributed to Ukraine. But never had the strikes been as strong as in recent days.
On Thursday, Moscow also claimed to have repelled an attempted ground attack from Ukraine against the region, already shaken last week by a spectacular armed incursion that showed the vulnerability of Russian borders.
In Belgorod, the displaced people interviewed by AFP said they were satisfied with their care and thanked the authorities. The governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said on Sunday that more than 4,000 people were temporarily housed in emergency reception centers opened in the city.
The Sisters of Charity of the Marfo-Mariinski convent, in Belgorod, also provide displaced people with basic necessities. Before that, this convent had already helped Ukrainian refugees who arrived in Russia during the first months of the conflict.
“We cannot stand aside when our fellow citizens are in turn forced to leave their homes,” said Elena Khimtchenko, 44, a nun responsible for distributing humanitarian aid at the convent and wearing a white headdress marked with a red cross.
Tatiana Kojeleva, a 64-year-old pensioner, fled Chebekino. The balcony of his apartment was hit by shrapnel. As she receives help at the Marfo-Mariinski convent, she is the only person interviewed by AFP on Saturday to wonder aloud who is responsible for her misfortunes.
“Our city of Chebekino was very heavily bombed,” she laments, comparing her city to that of Donetsk, a large city in eastern Ukraine occupied by the Russian army and subjected to Ukrainian bombing. since 2014.
“There is a bit of resentment, for our region of Belgorod, it is hurtful to see that we are not defended. That’s the most annoying thing, we are hit, and we are laughing”, says she with a strange smile.
video cage/prh
06/04/2023 14:08:57 – Belgorod (Russie) (AFP) – © 2023 AFP