Russia and Belgorod authorities urge citizens to leave the city after Ukrainian attacks

The governor of Russia's Belgorod region on the border with Ukraine, which has been subjected to increasingly fierce attacks from Kiev, suggested that residents of the regional capital evacuate. “As of today, we are ready to transport you there Stary Oskol and Gubkin (furthest from the border)where you will find yourself in comfortable conditions, in warm and safe rooms,” Vyacheslav Gladkov said in Telegram, addressing the over 300,000 residents of Belgorod.

Even the municipality of Belgorod in Russia near the Ukrainian border He appealed to the city's residents to put tape on their windows to protect themselves from “possible explosions” due to the bombing of Ukraine. The Russian city of 300,000 has been repeatedly the target of attacks by Kiev's armed forces, and for this reason too postponed the reopening of schools from January 9th to January 19th. “Emergency department rescuers strongly recommend taping up the windows. It’s a good way to protect yourself from the pressure wave of explosions.” and thus curb the shattering of glass and the impact of splinters, we read on the Telegram channel of the Belgorod municipality on Telegram. On December 29, a massive series of Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukraine claimed 55 lives, and the next day Kiev responded with unprecedented attacks on Belgorod that left at least 25 people dead. And the mutual attacks continued.

Ukraine's air defense forces have shot down at least 10 Shahed kamikaze drones fired by the Russians into their territory in recent hours, although some managed to get through, injuring some people and causing damage in the south of the country. This was stated by the press secretary of the Southern Defense Forces Natalya Gumenyuk, quoted by RBC-Ukraine. The troops of the Russian Federation have released several groups of Shaheeds on the territory of Ukraine, the attack continues.
The Ukrainian army destroyed at least ten enemy attack drones. Russian drones were shot down in two successive waves over the Kherson region, four over the Dnipropetrovsk region and one each over the Kirovohrad and Mykolaiv regions.

IAEA inspection of Zaporizhzhia power plant blocked

Russia confirmed what the IAEA reported two days ago, namely that it prevented an inspection by UN Atomic Energy Agency personnel of three reactors at the Ukrainian nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia, occupied by the Russians since March 2022, for “security reasons.” Renat Karchaa, director of Russian nuclear operator Rosatom, which took over the plant, said IAEA inspectors would try to access the “containment covers.” These – he continued -, especially the sealed shells, are not museums, they are not freely accessible areas. When (the containment envelopes of nuclear reactors) are in “sealed” mode, access for personnel is prohibited but permitted for clear reasons and in emergencies, Karchaa added. IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said in a statement that experts sent to the Ukrainian nuclear power plant had not had access to three of the reactors for two weeks, adding that the U.N. agency continued to seek permission to inspect the reactor cores and spent fuel storage facilities I'll ask for nuclear fuel. The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe, which has been occupied for almost two years, has stopped supplying electricity to Ukraine since September 2022 and has repeatedly been the target of artillery and drone attacks.

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