"We have hell in Belgorod!" - Online interlocutor

Soloviev insulted the Belgorod residents. They invited him to visit

The tragedy in Crocus near Moscow unexpectedly resulted in a scandal on the social networks of pro-government TV channels. Residents of Belgorod and the region, expressing sympathy for the victims and injured, began to say that they are in such a situation around the clock - since December 30, the region has been subjected to massive shelling, and since March 9, it has become almost constant. The Channel One News group closed comments on VK, and Vladimir Solovyov on his broadcast attacked Belgorod residents with sharp insults and demanded to “shut up.”

"You could be killed at any moment"

Let us recall that the Belgorod region has been under fire almost from the very beginning of the Northern Military District, but it finds itself in a particularly difficult situation right now.

“We are in the Moscow region: a few days ago we fled from this hell,” says Belgorod resident Irina K., “because staying at home has become too dangerous for life.” Unbearable both physically and mentally! At the beginning of all this it was, of course, terrible, but then we somehow began to get used to it and adapt. There were shellings, but not so often. But after December 30, when the center of Belgorod came under fire and there were casualties, including children, regular shelling by Ukrainian MLRS began. Previously, it all somehow went wrong, but now, apparently, the air defense can no longer cope. They launch either seven, then 15, then 20, or even more missiles at residential areas.

We have Kharkov Mountain, on which there are many high-rise buildings. It flies there, flies through shopping centers, cars burn, people die. Just recently a woman went out for a walk with her dog in the morning... People are dying both in apartments and in the private sector. Well, at least they started turning on the siren. She can catch you at any moment. The last time I was driving to work and the shelling began. And literally in front of me, in the oncoming traffic, it hit a car. It was just terrible - I immediately asked to work remotely. Well, what's the point? We are sitting in the house, and everything is shaking, windows and doors open on their own due to explosions. The whole body cramps. In short, after another shelling, when our neighbors’ roof was broken, we decided to flee. Because you can be killed at any moment. They say that this was not the case even in Donetsk. And now they started firing at night...

– Recently there was news about a night shelling, when citizens left their homes and found that the nearest shelters were closed.

“It was probably a one-time incident,” Irina believes. “Such incidents are immediately brought under control. We have special locks installed in the entrances of our houses: as soon as the siren sounds, they are immediately unlocked. This saved the lives of many: people run into the entrance and hide there. There are concrete shelters at bus stops and everywhere in the city. I was recently driving to work. And the shelling began. The driver dropped everyone off at the bus stop, and we ran into this shelter. I sat down on a bench there, and a woman sat next to me. She was shaking so much that the whole shop was shaking! I finally decided to get up. In general, people react differently. It is very difficult and very scary, believe me...

Children go to the North, parents go remotely

Naturally, those who have the opportunity flee. The most “popular” destinations are Voronezh and Lipetsk, but in reality people are simply trying to get away from the nightmare in which they find themselves.

“Many simply cannot leave,” says Irina. - Someone is sick, someone is old. I have many friends who are attached to their parents - it is impossible to take them out, and they endure. Our windows, for example, are all covered with paper crosswise. And when you walk around the city, these crosses are everywhere. There is armored film, but it is expensive and you can’t get enough of it. The governor covered all administrative buildings and schools with it. But this armored film is only to prevent glass shards from flying around.

Many Belgorod residents are trying to take their children to safe areas. The authorities help as best they can - they send schoolchildren to different regions offering their help. And it seems that places in not very remote regions with a warm climate have run out - northern destinations have begun to be offered to Belgorod residents. Gladkov even separately spoke about how wonderful it was there and how he wanted to go there with his family, but for some reason the citizens did not share his enthusiasm.

“I first chose one region where to take the child, then they told me: they don’t send me there,” says Belgorod resident Anastasia K. “I chose another. As a result, they called me and offered me a position in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. This, of course, is great, but I’m not ready to send an 11-year-old child to hell, and they don’t offer us anything else.

“Everything is good only on the governor’s page on the social network,” says Belgorod resident Maxim. “They came up with the idea of ​​taking the children out, but the organization is in trouble again.” The teachers at school don't know anything. Yesterday they said: we are going to take tests for Covid. Crowds of children in the clinic. The test is valid for 24 hours. But we are no longer going anywhere, there are no places, the test has disappeared. Now they offer northern directions. For what? The parents themselves are sitting on their suitcases, not understanding what will happen tomorrow - what if the city is evacuated and they themselves have to leave, but here are the children in the North...

“Many people take their children away themselves, wherever they can,” Irina sighs. “Of course, these young girls are bored and crying.” And so the governor advises everyone to transfer employees to remote work as much as possible. And organizations themselves are already solving this problem in their own way. For example, ours has several branches and we are offered temporary relocation with the provision of housing. There are no compensation from the authorities in this regard. They are offered only to those who, God forbid, have someone killed, or their house destroyed, or their car damaged.

“Creatures” and “vile hysteria”

Apparently, problems are already arising with payments, and the region cannot cope on its own. In a recent live broadcast on VK, answering questions from Belgorod residents about compensation for a damaged car, Vyacheslav Gladkov, as it seemed to us, almost crying, explained to listeners that the number of damaged cars had already exceeded a thousand, and promised to help everyone, but only with time. At the same time, the governor looked so exhausted that it seemed that he would collapse unconscious at any moment.

“The governor, he’s on duty day and night,” says Irina. “Somewhere something exploded - he’s already there.” I don't know where he gets so much strength from. I think that financially there is probably support, but in everything else - yes, you feel abandoned.

Other Belgorod residents who felt the same began to write comments on the First Channel social network and demanded to talk in detail about the shelling and what they were going through. The answer came from the propagandist Solovyov. He called the authors of the messages “creatures,” the content of their posts “vile hysteria,” and ordered everyone to “shut up.” After which he became the target of the attack.

“On behalf of all Belgorod residents, I invite you to move to our region with your children,” suggested one of the users. “You will show us creatures an example of correct behavior.” “It’s better to remain silent than to tell people to shut up when they talk about what’s happening in their area,” another advised. In response, Soloviev closed the comments and began to make excuses: they say, he did not call all the residents of Belgorod that way, but bloggers. Citizens, however, were not convinced, and they created a petition calling for Solovyov to be brought to justice and for a public apology with personal presence in Belgorod.

“Since the beginning of the Northern Military District, 134 civilians, including children, have been killed as a result of attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the Belgorod region,” it says. “Grayvoron, Shebekino, Novaya Tavolzhanka, Kozinka and many other cities and towns have already ceased to exist.” The authors accused Solovyov of publicly insulting the feelings of Belgorod residents. “This is not only an insult to all of us, but also a disregard for the tragedy that the residents of the Belgorod region are experiencing,” they believe.

We, in turn, asked the governor of the Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, to evaluate Solovyov’s statements. But we have not yet received a response from either him or his administration.

/ Nadezhda Guzheva.

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