Urgent Nursery Closures in Belgorod Amid Security Concerns

Russia's southern Belgorod region has halted operations of all children's nurseries within a 20-kilometer radius of the Ukrainian border due to the peril posed by shelling, as confirmed by a Russian official. The cessation, reported on Thursday by Russian media, came into effect on Wednesday and is projected to last all week. It remains uncertain whether the closures will be prolonged.

Russian media indicated that approximately 50,000 residents in the region would be affected by the closures. Furthermore, on Tuesday, the regional governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, announced the restriction of access to 14 villages near the border for most civilians, citing an 'extremely difficult' security situation.

(With inputs from agencies.)