The Russian authorities announced today that they have started removing children from some areas on the border with Russia Ukraine which have been bombarded intensively for several days, fearing a “deterioration of the situation”.

“From today we are taking care of the children of Chebekinsky and Graivoronsky regions,” said Vyacheslav Gladkov, governor of the region Belgorod where the two areas are located.

“Today a first group of 300 children will be sent to Voronezh,” a city located about 250 kilometers further north-east and therefore further from the Ukrainian border.

Last week armed group from Ukraine had infiltrated the Belgorod region, causing shock in Russia.

Since then, many areas of the region on the border with Ukraine have been targeted by artillery fire and drone attacks, according to local authorities.

Four people were injured overnight Tuesday in a “massive” strike in the border town of Chebekino, Gladkov said. “The situation is getting worse,” he stressed.

According to him, more than 260 missiles fell yesterday Tuesday in the Belgorod region. Last night the governor said that one person was killed and two were injured by the Ukrainian shelling of a center for displaced people.

Such incidents have been on the rise recently, as Kiev says it is preparing for a full-scale counteroffensive to drive the Russian military out of territory it holds in Ukraine.

Today a drone crashed into an oil refinery in Ilski, Krasnodar province, without any casualties or damage.

This refinery was the target of two drone attacks at the beginning of May, resulting in a fire.