Overview: Heavy explosions in the Russian city of Belgorod and Russians in the Netherlands intimidated by phone
These are the main developments from Sunday evening and the night from Sunday to Monday:
- In the city Belgorod in the south of Russia in the night from Sunday to Monday two heavy explosions Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on social media, according to Reuters news agency. Images are shared on Twitter of possible Ukrainian drones over Belgorod and the deployment of anti-aircraft guns, but the authenticity of these cannot be confirmed. Gladkov said there are no reports of damage or casualties. In recent days, there have been several reports of attacks by the Ukrainian army on targets in Russia. In Belgorod, several explosions were heard last week and a fire broke out in an ammunition depot.
- Russians in the Netherlands get phone calls asking where their loyalties lie, it reports Financial Newspaper† The callers identify as the Russian government and ask if the called party supports Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. A spokesman for the AIVD tells the newspaper that the Russian government does not find the critical view of Russians in the Netherlands who have access to free media desirable.
- The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hopes that more people can be evacuated from the Azovstal factory in the port city of Mariupol. He says in his daily video message that he is happy with the successful evacuation of about 100 civilians on Sunday and “will continue to do everything possible to continue to evacuate people from Azovstal and Mariupol as a whole”. According to Ukrainian sources, about a thousand civilians are still trapped in the bunkers of the steel factory alone.