Evacuation may be necessary, Russian governor warns public

 Russian authorities in a border region near Ukraine are warning residents to be ready for temporary relocation as winter outages disrupt daily life.

In a message posted on Telegram, the Governor of the Belgorod Oblast, Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Jan. 13 that residents should be prepared for emergency scenarios if conditions deteriorate further.

“This may involve transporting people to municipalities that are able to accommodate such numbers, or relocating them to other regions,” he said in the post when speaking about possible consequences.

No need for panic

Speaking in comments posted on Telegram, he stressed the need for planning rather than panic.

“In no way am I saying that we need to abandon all our belongings and start moving to another region. Absolutely not. What we need to do is understand the sequence of our actions in the event of a complex, emergency situation, when there might be no heat or electricity,” Gladkov said.

He added that officials are considering relocating residents to nearby municipalities capable of hosting large numbers of people, or to other regions if required.

Families urged to plan

Gladkov also encouraged families with children to seek temporary refuge with relatives in areas less affected by outages. He urged parents to send children to places “where there is heat and electricity” if possible.

The remarks followed a major power outage on Jan. 9 that Russian officials attributed to Ukrainian strikes. According to regional authorities, the incident was part of a series of attacks on Belgorod’s energy infrastructure over recent months.

Gladkov has previously said strikes on Oct. 5 and Nov. 8 damaged energy facilities, leaving tens of thousands without electricity.

Translation of the post

Using AI, the editorial has translated the post from Gladkov into English. We have not been able to verify if the translation is completely correct, but the information corresponds with what is being reported by other news outlets.