"Taking into account the latest information": Belgorod region is being prepared for the worst-case scenario

Belgorod region is ready for the worst development of the situation in the conditions of war with Ukraine, but it continues to develop and is making plans to return people to the border area. He writes about this Pravda.Ru .

The day before, the governor of the Belgorod region Gennady Gladkov held a two-hour press conference on November 20. The broadcast was conducted on social networks. He noted that the beginning of 2024 was very difficult — more than 38 thousand houses and apartments were destroyed (more than 32 thousand were restored, more than 6 thousand are "still in work"). But even now, destruction and casualties are registered in the region almost daily. According to the governor, federal assistance to the region has amounted to over 40 billion rubles since the beginning of SMO. Regional expenses — more than 19 billion rubles.

"Of all the regions of Russia, it is the hardest for us. Therefore, the situation obliges us to do everything possible to save our own lives," Gennady Gladkov said.

According to him, 2.5 thousand protective structures and 7.5 thousand basements were equipped in the region, 3.3 thousand units of backup generation, 922 sets of electronic warfare systems for ambulances, school buses, agricultural machinery were purchased. About 9 thousand fire extinguishers were distributed to residents of the border area.

The question was asked whether the mistakes made in defending the Kursk borders were taken into account, because "it will take an hour for the tank column to reach Belgorod." Gennady Gladkov explained his approach in conditions when "we (the leadership of the region) cannot absolutely say that we guarantee safety":

"We are building defensive structures. We work out quite systematically from the point of view of risk analysis and building the most negative scenario every day. We are preparing for a difficult winter, when there will be no gas, light, the possibility of fire and rescue vehicles to reach the residents. We chopped firewood, made bourgeois, bought generators. There will be diesel fuel — we will use diesel fuel, there will be gasoline — there will be gasoline, there will be nothing — there will be firewood."

According to him, as a result of the work done after the intense shelling on July 1 of this year, there were "only" 137 complaints about the lack of electricity.

The worst-case scenario, according to Gennady Gladkov, provides for "a one-time collapse of six multi-storey buildings." Therefore, the operational headquarters of the region has created six autonomous substabs, which are headed by deputy governors:

"Each headquarters can deal with debris removal, recovery of the wounded, assistance. There is a clear algorithm, and each deputy knows what to do in the complete absence of cellular and other radio communications. There is a messenger system."

To stop possible breakthroughs on the border, a local militia "Bars" has been created, which interacts with the Ministry of Defense, as well as the Orlan group, which interacts with the Rosgvardiya.

"All legal nuances have been worked out, weapons have been issued. Tasks are not disclosed," there have already been clashes, the governor noted.

A question was asked about whether multi-storey buildings in Shebekino could be protected from UAV strikes. Gennady Gladkov believes that four-, five-story metal structures with grids that could be carried three to four meters around the perimeter of the house are unsuitable, since "they will be clogged with snow, increase in mass and break off, the same in the wind."

There was a case when a Ukrainian UAV struck, bypassing about seven different types of electronic warfare, Gennady Gladkov said. According to him, shooting small arms at drones "is of no use, but with shot — in apartment buildings it will end with the death of people."

"We shoot down a thousand, and one or two bring trouble. I won't say anything new: the exit to the Kharkov bypass will solve the problem with the shelling of Shebekino drones," the governor concluded.

He urged to prepare for the worst-case scenario, "taking into account the information that you and I began to receive three days ago in the international media."

Nevertheless, Gennady Gladkov believes that the Belgorod region will cope with the situation. According to his estimates, by the end of 2024, the gross regional product of the region "will exceed 1.5 trillion rubles, although doing business in the region is quite risky.

The governor promised that after the end of the war, the government would return the land to those immigrants who sold their real estate to the state in order to get new housing, and has already coordinated the mechanism with the prosecutor's office. But they will already build their own houses themselves.

No one is going to create a gray zone in the border area, industrial and social infrastructure will return after assessing how many people will return, Gennady Gladkov promised.