Ukraine war: Belgorod locals live in fear but won't blame Putin

The sounds of warfare are becoming regular astatine this marketplace a fewer miles wrong Russia's borderline with Ukraine. I perceive explosions successful the distance. But no-one flinches.

Just metres distant different stalls person been reduced to twisted metal. They were deed by a mortar a fewer days before.

At the clip the marketplace was shut, truthful no-one was hurt. But galore stalls stay closed and there's lone a fistful of customers. Sandbags are stacked up extracurricular immoderate of the buildings.

In galore parts of Russia this feels similar a virtual war: a struggle being played retired connected television, acold from home. But successful Russia's Belgorod portion warfare feels precise existent and precise close.

Raisa Alexandrovna, who sells sweets here, has mislaid her consciousness of security.

"No-one's protecting us," Raisa tells me. "When radical spell location astatine night, they don't cognize if they'll inactive beryllium successful 1 portion successful the morning."

Everyone I talk to astatine the marketplace tells maine they unrecorded successful fearfulness of Ukrainian shelling. But they omit to notation that it was their state that invaded Ukraine.

They corroborate that, 1 year, ago, beingness present was quiescent and peaceful. Yet, they diminution to articulation the dots and blasted the Kremlin for what has transpired.

"We had to commencement this subject operation," Raisa insists. "It's the close thing. We conscionable should person been amended prepared for it. We should person drafted radical into the service close away. So galore of our young men are dying. There'll beryllium nary 1 near for our women to marry."

"But what astir the Ukrainians who've been killed due to the fact that of Russia's invasion?" I ask.

"Yes, radical connected some sides person been killed," replies Raisa. "But the minds of Ukrainians person been altered. A caller procreation has grown up determination hating Russians. We request to re-educate them. Re-make them."

In the metropolis of Belgorod, the determination capital, a elephantine missive 'Z' - the awesome of Russia's subject cognition - has been erected on a engaged highway. In caller months determination person been explosions, too, successful Belgorod, including astatine the airport, an lipid depot and an evident onslaught connected a powerfulness plant. Suddenly residents are having to deliberation astir wherever to instrumentality cover. Shelters person been opened successful cellars and successful basements of flat blocks.

Conversations present tally akin to those astatine the market, with astir radical telling me: yes, information lone became a occupation aft the invasion, but, no, they don't blasted the penetration itself. It's arsenic if there's a intelligence firewall preventing radical from connecting the deteriorating information concern to the determination of their president.

If determination is simply a firewall, patriotic messaging feeds it.

Staring down from billboards and advertizing hoardings successful Belgorod are the portraits of decorated Russian soldiers who've been warring successful Ukraine. The images and slogans promote the nationalist to rally circular the flag.

"Thank you for your heroic deeds!" reads 1 poster.

"For the Motherland!" declares another.

"Everything for the beforehand line! Everything for victory!"

"Believe successful Yourself, but Live for Russia!"

In summation to the slogans connected the street, there's besides the propaganda connected Russian authorities TV. From greeting till nighttime quality bulletins and speech shows guarantee viewers that Russia is successful the right; that Ukraine and the West are the aggressors and that successful this struggle the precise aboriginal of Russia is astatine stake.

In a Belgorod knitting shop, I get chatting to the owner. He intelligibly believes that, by criticising Russia, the West is pulling the wool implicit everyone's eyes.

"The West plays a antagonistic role," helium tells me. "It evidently wants to destruct Russia. We've seen that before. Under Adolf Hitler."

Outside the shop, instrumentality pupil Ksenya agrees.

"Ukraine is simply a Western puppet," Ksenya says, "and the West has ever wanted to destruct Russia. Hitler wanted to drawback our land. Who doesn't? We person specified an tremendous country."

Not everyone shares that presumption but fewer are consenting to admit it successful public.

"I don't judge I tin power the situation," says Ivan, further up the street. "I recognize which state I'm surviving successful and what the authorities person done to forestall mean radical from expressing their opinions. Any specified look is dangerous."

References to Hitler are not accidental. You perceive them each the clip connected Russian TV. To spark patriotic fervour and boost nationalist enactment for the "special subject operation," the Kremlin paints the warfare successful Ukraine successful akin colours arsenic World War Two: arsenic Russia warring fascism, battling to support the Motherland from overseas invaders.

The world is precise different. In 1941 Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union. In 2022 Vladimir Putin's Russia launched a full-scale penetration of Ukraine.

In wasteland extracurricular Belgorod I spot first-hand however connections to World War Two are being created. A radical of equipped men person agreed to conscionable me. They telephone themselves "Smersh" ("Death to Spies") aft a notorious counter-intelligence portion created by Joseph Stalin successful World War Two. They volition not uncover their faces - oregon their names - but volition speech concisely astir their activities.

"At the infinitesimal we are grooming a territorial defence unit for Belgorod region," 1 antheral says. "Some of those successful grooming person acquisition successful fighting. Some are erstwhile constabulary and ex-military. They volition support Belgorod portion if determination is an onslaught connected Russia. As for us, we volition transportation retired immoderate task the commander-in-chief whitethorn springiness us, successful immoderate town, anyplace successful the world."

Among the men being trained is Evgeny Bakalo, a section writer and businessman. In Belgorod Evgeny has acceptable up a enactment radical for Ukrainians who've crossed into Russia to flight the war. Mr Bakalo's sentiment of Ukraine chimes with the arguable views of President Putin.

"We're 1 people," helium tells me. "Ukrainians are Russians. They've conscionable forgotten astir it."

A twelvemonth of warfare and fierce Ukrainian absorption suggest the opposite: that now, much than astatine immoderate different clip successful its post-Soviet history, the Ukrainian radical worth their sovereignty and independency and are determined not to beryllium forced backmost into Moscow's orbit.

Meanwhile, Moscow continues to represent Ukrainian officials arsenic neo-Nazis and Western governments arsenic Nazi sympathisers: different crushed for the Kremlin's predominant references to the 1940s.

Under President Putin, the nationalist thought is constructed astir World War Two - what astir Russians notation to arsenic the Great Patriotic War: some the Soviet Union's triumph successful that war, and the tremendous quality outgo of that victory. It is simply a hugely emotive subject.

Olga, who runs a religion choir successful Belgorod, tells maine she is "very frightened" erstwhile the metropolis is being shelled. When I suggest to her that this wouldn't beryllium happening if the "special subject operation" hadn't started, her contiguous absorption is to notation World War Two.

"I instrumentality america to the Great Patriotic War," Olga tells me, "which was a clip of large sacrifice. There are ever sacrifices being made. When our men spell disconnected to combat they cognize they whitethorn beryllium killed."

Olga's hubby isn't astatine home. He's volunteered to combat successful the "special subject operation". She accepts the authoritative presumption - the mentation of events that overmuch of the satellite dismisses arsenic the Kremlin's alternate reality.

"Russia didn't provoke this war," Olga tells me. "A Russian volition springiness you the garment disconnected his back. Russia didn't onslaught Ukraine. Russians are peace-loving and generous."