"Nothing should be here": How Russia turns Chernihiv region into "buffer zone"

Chernihiv region, which borders Russia, is increasingly suffering from Russian shelling. Over the past day, four districts came under fire. The region is hit hardest by "Shaheds" and FPV drones.

This is reported in a story by TSN correspondent Valentyna Dobrota. She returned from Semenivka, which is just 10 kilometers from the Russian border.

The security situation in Semenivka is only getting worse, and it's felt with every trip I make here. There are fewer people on the streets, and more destroyed houses. Enemy drones simply hover overhead, and to quickly take cover during shelling, modular shelters are placed throughout the town.

Air alerts here can last almost non-stop around the clock. So locals are constantly listening for unfamiliar sounds.

"We already know very well, we can tell where the drops are, the "Molniyas," "Geraniums," and "Shaheds" flying toward Kyiv," locals say.

Journalists are also advised to listen to the noise. After the first explosion is heard — quickly to shelter. Employees of the local administrative service center already work here.

Ms. Olena even receives visitors in such conditions because people come from other villages in the community. One visitor says: sometimes they're forced to travel to the community center, which is constantly under attack from Russian drones, but every trip to Semenivka is a challenge.

"Now in a day, sometimes the vehicle doesn't even have time to reach the site, and the fires have become more massive. Before the war, when there was an alert about a fire, we'd gather and go. But now we also have to check what's in the sky, the security aspect," says Andriy Savitsky, head of the Semenivka fire station of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine.

Currently, due to the drought — it's a high fire hazard period. And the Russians are deliberately setting houses on fire, so rescuers, Andriy Savitsky says, have no time to catch a breath.

"It feels like they're creating a buffer zone so that there's nothing here. They throw a lighter, there's no explosion as such, but the house is burning. And the grass burns, the house, the shed, and the buildings are dense, so it starts one after another," he says.

While journalists were working in Semenivka, the Russian army launched seven targeted attacks on the town with strike drones — aimed at critical infrastructure, private, and administrative buildings.

The Russians have also changed their tactics — they launch jet drones at speeds of up to 300 kilometers per hour. They're harder to shoot down. And the enemy is scattering leaflets in the form of 100 hryvnia bills with calls to report coordinates of Ukrainian Armed Forces positions in exchange for real money.

"This is a classic example of the enemy's information-psychological operation aimed at sowing panic among the population and also inclining certain people to collaborate. We emphasize that passing information about the location of Ukrainian troops is a serious criminal offense, but we are confident in the loyalty of our people and the unity of society. If such leaflets are found, they should be handed over to the police or destroyed," says Bohuslav Kruk, spokesman for the 15th Army Corps of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Enemy forces on the Chernihiv border are simply hunting people. A few days ago, on this yard, an FPV drone killed a woman who was sorting potatoes.

"It was during the day. Of course, they saw what she was doing. This is terror, terror against civilians. I won't add anything else — the terrorist country is terrorizing. I think it's so that people don't live here, so there's no development, no life," Deputy Mayor of Semenivka Serhiy Yeryoma says.

Northern Chernihiv has always been a depressed region. It's far from the center, with low population density. Main jobs are in farming and forestry enterprises. Now the enemy is finishing off everything the community lives on. Even ordinary stores are under fire.

Ms. Viktoriya recently opened a nail salon. But because of a drone attack, today is not her day. The latest wave of drone activity over Semenivka did not provoke mass migration of people, says Ms. Viktoria.

But the only school in the community that worked in person had to be closed. Children from several villages were brought there by school buses.

The population of the Semenivka community has decreased by at least a third during the full-scale war. There is no mandatory evacuation here, although it is an active combat zone. For those who want to leave, the city council helps with transport and finds housing in neighboring communities.