Moscow confirmed on Tuesday that its army had captured yet another Ukrainian village in the Donbass, the main front of the war, but at the same time announced a new hasty evacuation of residents from the Belgorod region, due to Ukrainian shelling and ground incursions by Russian paramilitaries fighting in the ranks of the Ukrainian forces, whom President Vladimir Putin calls “traitors”.

The Russian Ministry of Defense announced that the village of Orlivka, not far from the almost completely destroyed industrial city of Avdiivka, a Ukrainian stronghold that fell into the hands of the Russian armed forces more than a month ago, was captured.

The advance “improved the situation along the front line,” he assured.

The Ukrainian general staff earlier said that Russian attacks in the area where the community is located were repelled, but maps updated by observers near Kiev appear to confirm the movement of the front line.

Western analysts attribute the Russian advance in part to shortages of ammunition and experienced personnel.

However, the governor of Belgorod ordered the hasty removal of 9,000 children.

The city of the same name and this region, opposite the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, have recently been subjected to constant shelling by Ukrainian troops and attacks by Russian paramilitaries fighting for Kiev. They intensified in the days of presidential elections in Russia.

Since last week, 16 people have been killed and another 100 injured in the region, Vychislav Gladkov said during a meeting of the ruling party (“United Russia”) in Moscow. Three people were injured yesterday morning, he added.

Already last year, the Russian authorities removed residents en masse.

On Friday, 1,200 children were transferred from Belgorod to other regions of Russia.

Russian President Putin after his election victory did not rule out creating a “neutral zone” on the border to prevent bombings and attacks. In Kiev, this statement is taken as an announcement of an escalation of Russian attacks.

Kharkiv (Kharkaf in Russian, also known as Kharkiv) was attempted to be captured by Russian troops during the war, but was repulsed. The second largest Ukrainian city is under almost daily Russian shelling.

President Putin, referring to the Russian “traitors” who are launching attacks in the country, demanded to the personnel of the internal security service FSB that they be hunted down. “We will punish them without time limit, wherever they are,” he explained, adding that Russia will never forget those who commit attacks against their country.

He accused groups of “saboteurs” and “terrorists”, mercenaries and others of trying to cause trouble in the elections.

More generally, Russia faces “a powerful and dangerous adversary, which has a wide range of information, technical and financial resources in its arsenal.”

Moscow has also suffered defeats due to asymmetric threats at sea. According to the British Ministry of Defence, the Russian Black Sea Fleet has been restricted to the eastern part of its area of ​​responsibility due to repeated Ukrainian attacks. Although Ukraine has had no navy since the beginning of the conflict, it says it has sunk or damaged 26 ships in its Black Sea fleet — nearly a third of its strength — with missiles, aerial and sea-based unmanned aerial vehicles loaded with large amounts of explosives. materials.

Russian news agencies reported that Admiral Alexander Mysheev, 62, was named the new chief of the Russian navy’s general staff. However, on the website of the Russian Ministry of Defense it is still stated that it is headed by Admiral Nikolai Yevmonaf. In any case, Admiral Mysheev accompanied Defense Minister Sergei Saigu to inspect the Black Sea Fleet in annexed Crimea. The minister ordered officers to step up training to deal with Ukrainian drones.

In February, Ukrainian media reported that fleet commander Viktor Shakalov had been replaced.

In Kiev, late in the evening President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed his gratitude to Ukraine’s Western allies after promises of new military aid deliveries following a so-called contact group meeting at the US Ramstein Air Base in Germany. New packages will arrive, especially of “ammunition for the artillery”, which are now missing, he assured in his speech. He especially thanked Germany, which promised an equipment package worth 500 million euros.

It emphasizes air defense, electronic warfare equipment and drones, he explained. He also praised the countries that have joined or support the Czech initiative to purchase ammunition, especially for artillery, from countries outside Europe. At the same time, President Zelensky asked to speed up the process of delivering F-16 fighters to the Ukrainian Air Force “as much as possible.”