russia’s Border Regions Left to the Mercy of Fate for the Sake of Security in the Capital

In mid-May, russia’s authorities began further strengthening defenses in moscow region. They plan to build seven more new positions for “pantsir” anti-aircraft missile and gun systems. At the same time, the situation in russia’s border regions looks entirely different. In belgorod region, the authorities have not only forgotten about air defense but have also stopped repairing damaged buildings.

In particular, residents of graivoron district report that previously, damaged homes were repaired even after repeated strikes, but now assistance with this has ceased. russians are repairing their homes on their own, cleaning up after fires, and helping to evacuate the wounded, as emergency services refuse to come.

Head of the graivoron district administration dmitry pankov has stated that he is aware of the problem but attributed the lack of restoration work to the “tense operational situation”.

Meanwhile, new governor of belgorod region aleksandr shuvaev is facing discontent from local residents for failing to fulfill his promise to restore normal mobile internet service. A new problem has added to the old one: a number of neighborhoods in belgorod district have also been left without home internet due to damage to the main fiber-optic cable. The timeline for restoration is unknown. And taking into consideration that the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine has already reported that shuvaev has no experience in civil administration, there is a high probability that belgorod region will be left without both, air defense and reliable internet.

The result is a cynical situation: russian authorities are immediately focusing their resources on defending moscow and the affluent areas around the capital, but are effectively leaving their own citizens in the border regions to their fate.