Ukraine, attack by “anti-Putin partisans” in Belgorod. But the counter-offensive is pending

The conflict in Ukraine is increasingly penetrating into Russian territory with the border region of Belgorod today affected by war on a daily basis. The last event in chronological order is the incursion of the so-called ‘Russian guerrillas’ in the Shebekino district, where the militiamen who oppose Vladimir Putin announce that they have taken two Russian soldiers prisoner and say they are willing to release them in exchange for an interview with the governor of the region, Vyacheslav Gladkov. The local politician says he is willing to accept but, at the same time, invites the local population to “temporarily leave” their homes and “safeguard what is most important: their lives and those of their loved ones”. A situation of chaos that, according to Mikhyalo Podolyak, adviser to the Ukrainian presidency, represents “in a small town” what will be “the future of Russia” or “the end of the era of ‘Putin’s stability'”.

If Moscow fights against the infiltration of “saboteurs” in its territory, Ukraine remains the scene of heavy bombing. In the Dnipropetrovsk region, a two-year-old girl lost her life and five others were injured. According to Kiev leader Volodymyr Zelensky, “at least 500” minors have fallen since the start of the war. “Russian weapons and hatred continue to take and destroy the lives of Ukrainian children every day – he declares – many of them could have become famous scholars, artists, sports champions, contributing to the history of Ukraine”. For this reason, he continues, it is necessary to “resist and win this war”. Two more deaths are recorded in the Kharkiv region, where first lady Olena Zelenska inaugurated a monument to children who died in the war.

On the other hand, the Ukrainian counteroffensive remains pending, about which Kiev, although it says it is ready, prefers to keep it secret. “Plans love silence,” argues Hanna Malyar, Ukraine’s deputy defense minister, adding that “there will be no announcement of the start”. There is confidence on the part of Ukraine’s western allies. The United States – through Jake Sullivan, national security adviser to the White House – made it known that an eventual counter-offensive “will allow Kiev to take strategically important territories that are now under the control of the Russian Federation”. Instead, from the Kremlin comes another warning to send weapons to Ukraine. This “inevitably will lead to increased tension” and force Russia to be “further mobilized”, warned presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov.