Ukraine War Day #460: The Human Face Of Belgorod Victims

“And the Russians are dyin’, it’s the best money we ever spent!” (American Senator Lindsey Graham)

Dear Readers:

Recall that just a week ago, last Monday, Ukrainian terrorists (I call them terrorists instead of soldiers, because they mainly attacked civilians) invaded the Russian Oblast of Belgorod. Although they were quickly defeated and expelled, they left some civilian casualties behind. This piece by reporter Olga Ivanova delves into that story.

Regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov visited the victims of the incursion in the Grayvoron and Shebekino areas. The person who suffered the most is a woman whose name is not given, I am guessing this is probably due to medical privacy reasons; on the other hand, they show a photograph of her lying in her hospital bed.

Victim of Belgorod attack, must get strong again for the sake of her children.

This woman was apparently put through the ringer by the Ukrainian terrorists. Not only did they capture her (and her husband) and hold them hostage, they even killed her husband right in front of her. She was wounded as well, and they didn’t even give her any medical attention, or even offer her a glass of water while she was bleeding and dehydrating.

According to Gladkov, the woman was practically held hostage by the diversionaries, in the basement of her own house. She is okay and will physically survive, but Gladkov says she is experiencing a very substantial psychological trauma, especially knowing that her husband is never going to return. At the same time, according to Gladkov, she realizes that she needs to buck up and get strong again, for the sake of her children. “From our side,” he wrote in his Telegram feed, “we will do everything we can to help and support her.” From what she was able to tell him about her ordeal, she was held hostage by a small group of men. Two of them were Ukrainians, and the others were either Poles or Americans, from what she could tell.

Gladkov also reported on the children of Shebekino who suffered. One little boy received a concussion, and one little girl also received a serious wound, as a result of a falling shell.

Then I just saw this piece, this morning, it is very short but to the point, the reporter is Olga Nikitina. I translate in full:

TRANSLATION

The Governor of Belgorod Oblast, Vyacheslav Gladkov, declared that there is only one solution to the problem of Ukrainian shelling of the territory of his region: Kharkov must be reunited with Russia.

While giving an on-air interview to the Rossiya 24 channel, Gladkov underscored that, shoud Kharkov be annexed to the Belgorod Oblast, then this would be the best solution to the problem.

On Sunday [yesterday] Gladkov communicated that, in just the past 24 hours, the Belgorod Oblast registered 241 hits of Ukrainian shells. While the city of Shebekino was being shelled, one person died.

END OF TRANSLATION

[yalensis, my analysis]: Most of the pundits I respect agree that the persistent Ukrainian attacks on Belgorod have no real military value, from a tactical or strategic point of view. They are not even that much of a distraction for the Russian military, from a big-picture point of view. In fact, from a very, very cynical POV they are actually beneficial, because the Ukrainians are using up valuable shells and bombs on non-military targets (i.e., civilians). This is obviously part of some stupid psy-ops campaign, and somebody out there thought this campaign would be effective, but it’s not. It’s just an irritant to the Russians.

On the other hand, it’s something that has to be dealt with. The Russian government has a duty to defend its citizens. Tomorrow I will have a post about efforts to beef up the Russian Territorial Defense units, as a response to these attacks.