Belgorod, the City Where the War in UKR Came to RU; RU Under Attack for 4th Day: Belgorod Village Heavily Damaged, Drones over 2 Oblasts; UKR Attacks RU’s Kaluga Oil Refinery; RU’s Set Fire to 4+ Polling Stations Day 1; 70 Combat Clashes Over 6 fronts, LIVE UPDATES and LOTS MORE

Belgorod, the city where the war in Ukraine came to Russia:

Russia, March 15 (Reuters) – Air raid sirens wail almost daily in the southern Russian city of Belgorod, sending people rushing for cover and reminding residents the full-scale war in neighbouring Ukraine is a reality for them too.

Compared with the destruction across much of Ukraine, Russia’s vast territory has been largely unscathed.

Belgorod, 40 km (25 miles) north of the border, is the main exception, a reminder that not every civilian can be shielded from the conflict.

As Russians began voting early on Friday in a three-day presidential election, a missile alert forced election officials to take shelter at a polling station in Belgorod and voting was briefly halted, according to Russia’s RIA state news agency.

Vladimir Seleznyov, a pensioner who witnessed a missile attack on Plekhanov Street on Feb. 15 in which seven people were killed, said it was hard to grow accustomed to the danger.

“Of course, the situation is difficult, but we live near the border. It would be a stretch to say that we got used to that,” he told Reuters on a recent visit to the city to which international media rarely get access.

“It’s understood that, naturally, we will win, we will prevail, but the people are worried and concerned.”

In the ancient fortress town, now a modern city of 300,000 people that is once again on Russia’s front lines, scores of civilians have been killed in drone and missile strikes from Ukraine since February 2022.

Kyiv denies targeting civilians just as Moscow does, despite Russia having launched drones and missiles against Ukraine that have killed thousands of civilians and caused hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of damage.

In the worst civilian loss of life from foreign enemy fire in internationally recognised Russian territory since World War Two, 25 people were killed and more than 100 wounded in missile attacks on Belgorod on Dec. 30 last year.

As he marches towards certain re-election in the March 15-17 vote, President Vladimir Putin nevertheless remains popular in Belgorod as he does across Russia, underlining how the war has galvanised support for him. —>READ MORE HERE

Russia under attack for 4th straight day: Belgorod village heavily damaged, drones over two oblasts

Russia has awoken to the sound of air raid sirens for the fourth straight day as border communities begin to feel the pain of an insurrection by the Russian Volunteer Corps.

Drone attacks were reported over Russia’s Kaluga and Belgorod oblasts, the respective governors claimed.

The continued drone raids come two days after the biggest attack on Russian soil since World War II.

Meanwhile, the village of Kozinka, Belgorod Oblast sustained heavy damage amidst clashes between the Russian Volunteer Corps (RDC) and the Russian Army.

NV has compiled what you need to know.

Drone attacks over Kaluga and Belgorod oblasts

Five attack drones and two rockets were destroyed over Russia’s Kaluga and Belgorod oblasts overnight on March 15, Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed.

Drones attacked Russia’s Kaluga Oblast overnight, Kaluga Oblast Governor, Vladislav Shapsha, claimed.

“Four drones were ‘suppressed’ by Russian Air Defense Forces tonight in the Dzerzhinsky district of Kaluga Oblast,” he alleged. —>READ MORE HERE

Follow links below to +++++relevant+++++ and related stories:

+++++Russia-Ukraine News LATEST UPDATES: (REUTERS) (AP) (NY POST) and (WSJ)+++++

+++++Ukraine attacks Russia’s Kaluga oil refinery using drones+++++

+++++Russians Set Fire to At Least 4 Polling Stations on First Day of Election+++++

+++++Russians attack on 6 fronts where over 70 combat clashes occurred – General Staff+++++

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