The governor of Russia’s Belgorod region said several areas would be closed to most civilians.

Russia has denied its ground offensive on Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region is failing after an official said he would seal off border villages to shield them from Ukrainian shelling.

Belgorod’s regional governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said on Tuesday that civilian access to 14 Russian border villages would be restricted given the ongoing intensity of the attacks.

Asked if this meant that the Kharkiv operation had failed, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday: “No, it doesn’t.”

“This operation is ongoing, it will continue until it has been successfully completed,” he told reporters.

“But while it has not been completed, barbaric attacks by the Kyiv regime on civilian infrastructure continue. In order to take the necessary measures to ensure the safety of the population, new practices are being introduced,” he said.

In May, Russia launched a surprise attack on Kharkiv, which neighbours Russia’s Belgorod region, in a bid to push Ukrainian forces back and establish what Russian President Vladimir Putin called a “buffer zone”.

But the Institute for the Study of War, a United States think-tank, said Ukrainian forces are largely holding back the Russian push around Kharkiv city.

City officials announced on Wednesday that they will build a series of underground schools to protect children from Russian shelling.

Announcing the safety measures, Belgorod’s governor said that more than 200 people had been killed and hundreds more wounded in the region due to Ukrainian shelling.

He said entry to the border area would be limited from next Tuesday, with only adult men wearing bullet-proof vests and helmets permitted to pass through checkpoints.

“I hope you will agree that it is unacceptable to let women and children into settlements that are shelled every day,” Gladkov said.

Last week, Ukrainian strikes in the Belgorod region also killed four people in a 24-hour period and injured 20 others.

Ukraine has argued that it is justified in its responses to Russia’s attacks and increased targeting of Russian territory throughout the conflict. Ukraine was also forced to scramble troops to reinforce the area after Russia launched its new offensive.

Prisoner swaps

Yet, on Wednesday, both countries exchanged 95 prisoners of war (POWs) each, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russia’s Ministry of Defence.

The swap was the 54th since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and it was brokered by the United Arab Emirates.

We continue to bring our people home. Another 95 defenders have been freed from Russian captivity. These are warriors of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard, and the border guards.

I am grateful to our team responsible for the exchanges and to the United Arab… pic.twitter.com/ozVW5wQ1Ie

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 17, 2024

Neither side has disclosed how many POWs there are in total, but they have carried out periodic prisoner swaps via intermediaries since the war began nearly two years ago, despite the absence of any peace talks.