Belgorod Governor offers evacuated Shebekino residents to return home

On July 4, Belgorod Oblast Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov offered the evacuated residents of the border town of Shebekino, accommodated in temporary residence centers, to return to their homes within the next two weeks.

"Of course, this applies only to those whose apartments and houses are not destroyed or damaged," Gladkov wrote on Telegram.

"I remind you that based on the previous decision, the rent will not be charged until Aug. 1."

According to the governor, the authorities are planning to restore infrastructure and repair damaged buildings in the town.

On June 1, Russian authorities reported shelling of Shebekino while Russian anti-Kremlin militias announced a cross-border raid toward the town.

The militants launched yet another incursion on June 4, engaging with the government's forces near Shebekino.

The fighting and the reported shelling prompted the local officials to begin the evacuation of the residents.

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