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'Suddenly there's a loud bang': Airstrikes, blackouts and frustration in Russia's frontline city

February 24, 2026 at 20:15

I'm standing in the middle of Belgorod's central square, and I can see three white, squat structures around the perimeter.

Next to the theatre and the regional parliament building, they look out of place.

The word "ukrytiye" is printed in red on the side of each one. It means "cover".

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They are bomb shelters, and there are hundreds all over the city. Supposedly, they're temporary, but two years after being installed, they feel increasingly permanent.

When the Kremlin launched its invasion of Ukraine four years ago, bomb shelters on home soil were definitely not part of the battle plans.

Nor were the barricades at Belgorod's bus stops. Nor the anti-drone nets draped over its schools and shopping centre. Nor the now frequent blackouts and power cuts.

But by exporting war, Russia also brought it home, and Belgorod has been on the frontline of Ukraine's retaliation.

At 25 miles (40km) from the border, it is the closest Russian city to the fighting.

We meet 80-year-old Lyudmila outside her apartment block on the outskirts of the city, a few hours after it has been hit by drones.

One crashed into her bedroom while she and her husband Vladimir were at home.

"It flew in through the window, hit the floor, exploded and then flew into the other room," she tells us, still in shock.

As we're looking up at the charred brickwork, an air raid siren sounds.

"Again," Lydumila sighs, before showing us inside to take shelter.

When the siren stops, we make our way up to her apartment, where I'm hit by a smell of burning as soon as the door opens.

There are cracks in the walls and scorch marks on the floor. The furniture inside has already been removed by emergency crews because there's nothing left to salvage.

The blast would almost certainly have killed the couple had they been in the same room.

"We are so tired, you cannot even imagine," she says.

"Lord, what did we do to deserve this? We lived in Ukraine, we were friends. And look at this, now we're fighting each other."

It is rare to hear people discuss the war so openly in Russia, where any criticism of it can land you behind bars.

But Belgorod isn't like other Russian cities. The war can feel distant and detached in other parts of the country, but not here.

There is a constant threat of attack, as we find out first-hand.

'Lucky escape'

We are on our way to the town of Shebekino, five miles (8km) from the Ukrainian border, when suddenly there's a loud bang.

"Stop!" one of the team yells. "Quick, get out!" Our vehicle has just been hit by a drone.

We jump out and race across the ice for cover behind the wall of a derelict factory.

We don't know where the drone came from. Our radar scanner didn't show any threats.

We believe it was a "sleeper" drone that had been lying in wait for a potential target.

For some reason, its pilot, operating the machine remotely via an onboard camera, chose our car.

Laden with explosives, kamikaze drones are designed to detonate on impact.

This one didn't. Instead, it lay smouldering in the road before the military arrived to take it away.

It was a very lucky escape and a terrifyingly close illustration of the everyday dangers for people in the region.

'Alone in our grief'

Like Moscow, Kyiv denies targeting civilians.

But as in Ukraine, civilians in Russia have been killed in the war too, albeit on a much smaller scale.

At least 440 people have died in the Belgorod region since the fighting began, according to the local authorities, compared to more than 15,000 the UN says have been killed in Ukraine.

Liza's mother, Viktoriya, died when Belgorod was shelled just over two years ago.

She had been out shopping with Liza, whose left leg was amputated after being hit by shrapnel. She was eight months old at the time.

"Those were very difficult days," says her uncle Dmitri, who stayed with Liza in hospital for several months and adopted her.

"She and I were left alone in our grief."

Dmitri was born in Belgorod, and that's where his whole family lives, including his mother and grandmother. That's why he's stayed. But it means life is essentially on hold - spent largely indoors and under cover.

"I wish there was peace, for children to live full lives," he tells me.

"Our children know what Vampire strikes are, what drones are, what an FPV [first-person-view] is. A child this age doesn't need to know this.

"There should be a childhood, and not this situation."

At an official level, Belgorod has embraced its role as a frontline city.

A local museum has put on a special exhibition called "Angels of Victory", which honours Belgorod's air defences.

Visitors are shown the remnants of Ukrainian missiles and drones that have been shot down.

There's no mention of why Belgorod has come under attack. No word on who started the war. The only message is that Russia is the victim.

It is the same with the bomb shelters. They've inspired a new line of souvenir keyrings. A sign of danger turned into a symbol of defiance.

'Together until victory'

There are many here who believe the narrative. At the local Communist Party offices, a group of elderly women are weaving camouflage nets that will be sent to Russian soldiers at the front.

"[The troops] are our protection, we are their protection. Together we are strong, together until victory," Olga tells me, under the watchful gaze of Joseph Stalin, whose giant portrait hangs on the wall.

The women say they have been making the nets every single day since the war started, and promise to continue until it ends.

"We have a lot of work to do," Raisa says, as an image of another icon of the Soviet Union, Vladimir Lenin, looms large behind her.

"We're just glad that we're so strong and not tired of anything. We just want peace and a real life."

While some have faith in Russia's path, it is clear there is also frustration here.

And it seems to be growing, the harder life gets.

Galina, 73, has been living by candlelight for the past five days, following a Ukrainian strike on the local power grid.

But who does she criticise? The local authorities, for not fixing the problem when they said they would.

"We understand the military situation, we understand, but you can't understand lies," she says.

Thousands in Ukraine have been living without heating and electricity for several weeks during the winter because of Russia's targeting of energy infrastructure.

But now people here are experiencing that too, as temperatures outside hit -20C.

Tatyana has her hat and coat on as she shows us through the gloom into her apartment. She fears the blackouts will continue.

"It's been going on for a very long time, and it's like we're just licking our wounds, unable to recover quickly," she says.

And that's just it - no one knows when this will end.

For all the diplomacy, there are still no breakthroughs. Peace talks keep hitting a brick wall.

And even if Moscow does get the favourable end of any peace deal, many here may wonder whether it's all been worth it.

The cost of war for Russia has been laid bare - the losses, the sanctions, the isolation. But the benefits? After four years, they are still unclear.

'Britain's youngest female double murderer' approved for open prison move

February 24, 2026 at 16:20

A woman believed to be Britain's youngest female double murderer should be moved to an open prison, the Parole Board has said.

But a panel blocked the release of Lorraine Thorpe, now 31, who was jailed for at least 14 years in 2010.

She was just 15 when she killed her father, Desmond Thorpe, 43, and Rosalyn Hunt within two weeks in August 2009.

Her accomplice Paul Clarke, then 41, was sentenced to a 27-year minimum term and died in prison four years later.

The pair, who were both from Ipswich, Suffolk, beat and tortured Ms Hunt over several days before smothering Mr Thorpe, and their bodies were found in separate flats.

Sentencing Thorpe at the Old Bailey, the judge Mr Justice Saunders said she could be "manipulative", and was not acting entirely under Clarke's control.

"She found violence funny and entertaining," he said.

"Far from being sorry, Lorraine appears to have gloried in it, describing to her friends at one stage how she stamped on Rosalyn's head."

But he described Thorpe's situation as "appalling" as she had been living with her father in squalid flats, and spending her time with middle-aged alcoholics, and was left with "no real understanding of what is right and what is wrong".

She and Clarke denied the charges, did not give evidence in their trial, and lost an appeal against their convictions for Mr Thorpe's murder in 2011.

Thorpe, who has accepted the first murder, but still claims her father died of natural causes, was previously refused parole in 2023.

Her case was considered again earlier this month but she was refused parole for the second time after agreeing she did not meet the test for release.

But the Parole Board panel recommended she should be moved to an open prison.

In a summary of the decision, they said: "Ms Thorpe has spent all her adult life to date in custody.

"She has little experience of independent pro-social living. The panel considered that her ability to cope with transition and the stressors in her life will be a key component of any future resettlement.

"Noting this, the panel considered it to be premature to be finalising any plans for longer term risk management. It considered that Ms Thorpe first needed to be tested in less restrictive prison conditions."

Thorpe is thought to be Britain's youngest double murderer, while Sharon Carr is believed to be the youngest British girl to have committed murder.

She was 12 when she fatally stabbed and mutilated stranger Katie Rackliff, 18, after she left a nightclub in Camberley, Surrey, in 1992, but she wasn't convicted for another five years.

Mary Bell was 11 when she was sentenced to life detention in 1968 after being found guilty of manslaughter for fatally strangling two boys, aged four and three. She was aged just 10 at the time she killed her first victim.

Dual nationals who don't have British passport could be denied UK entry

February 24, 2026 at 15:06

British dual nationals who don't have a British passport could be stopped from entering the UK under new rules coming into force later this month.

British dual nationals will no longer be able to enter the UK using only a foreign passport, as the government starts enforcing its Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) scheme from 25 February.

To board a flight, they must present a valid British passport or a Certificate of Entitlement - which costs £589 - or risk being denied boarding.

Travellers face being blocked from boarding their flight, ferry or train if they don't have one of these.

Although British and Irish citizens are exempt from applying for an ETA, airlines must now check passengers have the correct documentation before departure.

Non-visa nationals from 85 countries must also have an ETA before travelling, as part of the government's move towards a fully digital border system.

British and Irish citizens have the right to live in the UK, although they must prove this right when entering at the border.

Dual nationals used to be able to travel on a foreign passport without a certificate of entitlement, which links their right to reside in the UK to their foreign passport - although they risked being delayed by Border Force staff confirming their citizenship.

What should dual nationals do?

From 25 February, dual nationals will need to present either a British passport or certificate of entitlement to enter the UK.

At £94.50, applying for a British passport is much cheaper than a certificate of entitlement - which costs £589.

The Home Office says it has advised dual nationals to make sure they have the right documents to enter the UK since October 2024, and has been advertising about the ETA changes since 2023.

"Without [a British passport or certificate of entitlement], carriers cannot verify they are a British citizen, which may lead to delays or refused boarding," a spokesperson said.

It's not possible to get an ETA or visa to enter the UK as a British citizen, so dual nationals will either need a passport or certificate of entitlement.

Those who already have a physical certificate of entitlement will automatically receive a new digital version.

But they will need to create a UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) account to link it to their foreign passport.

Irish citizens can continue to use their Irish passport to enter the UK.

Why are the changes happening?

ETAs are part of what the government says will be a "more streamlined, digital immigration system" that it hopes will mean quicker entry into the UK, reducing queues at the border.

It also says the system will be more secure, and prevent people who shouldn't be entering the UK from doing so.

An ETA costs £16 and allows for multiple journeys and UK stays for up to six months, although it only last for two years.

The government plans to raise the cost to £20 at some point in the future.

It's similar to changes being made in the European Union, where non-EU citizens now need a European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) authorisation to enter.

British cousins charged with attempted murder over Venice Valentine's Day stabbing

February 24, 2026 at 19:16

Two British cousins have been arrested and charged with attempted murder over a stabbing on Valentine's Day in Venice.

Italian police said the men, aged 19 and 21, had been charged with stabbing a 22-year-old local man in the neck on the even of 14 February at a bar in the city's historic centre.

The victim reportedly come close to bleeding to death, after the incident outside La Bussola Cocktail Lar near the Rialto Bridge.

Police say they think it was sparked by a "trivial disagreements". They believe the knife may have been thrown into the water, with state police diving units searching the Grand Canal in Venice's centre to find the alleged weapon.

The 19-year-old is alleged to be the perpetrator and the 21-year-old the suspected accomplice, Italy's Polizia Di Stato said in a statement.

"Officers from the Venice Flying Squad, coordinated by the local prosecutor's office, arrested two British nationals, aged 19 and 21," the police said.

"They are believed to be responsible for the attempted murder of a 22-year-old man, which occurred on Valentine's Day in the historic centre."

They added: "According to investigations, the motive appears to be trivial disagreements between young people, which escalated into violence over trivial matters".

The police said the two men had been in Italy on holiday since the end of January, with return tickets booked. The arrests came after a search lasting more than a week.

Police say the cousins were found in an apartment that belonged to an Italian relative of one of the men, in Venice city centre.

The operation to locate them was supported by wiretaps, electronic surveillance, the monitoring of social media profiles and the exchange of information with British authorities.

Man's use of 'physical and sexual violence' to control wife led her to take her life, court hears

February 24, 2026 at 19:34

A man's use of "physical and sexual violence" to control his wife led her to take her own life, a court has heard.

Warning: This story contains descriptions some readers may find distressing, including references to suicide.

Christopher Trybus, of Swindon, Wiltshire, is accused of the manslaughter of Tarryn Baird, who died aged 34 in November 2017.

The 43-year-old also faces charges at Winchester Crown Court of controlling and coercive behaviour, and two charges of rape.

The coercive control charge alleges he controlled Ms Baird through both using and threatening violence, sexually assaulting her, monitoring her whereabouts, limiting her access to finance, threatening to reveal private information to her family and isolating her from them.

Tom Little KC, prosecuting, said he carried out "extensive and escalating controlling, coercive and manipulative behaviour, including sexual violence of two rapes and other sexual assaults".

He said: "It took place over a sustained period of time behind closed doors and all of it during the course of a marriage."

Mr Little said Trybus controlled "many aspects of their relationship" even when abroad, by using the "threat and fear of physical and sexual violence", which led to a deterioration in her "already weakened mental state and a cause of her deciding that she should take her own life".

"She had not managed to escape from him, despite seriously considering doing so on a number of occasions," he said.

"However, we say that constricted by his control she could never go through with leaving him, no doubt fearing the consequences if she would try to do so, and instead she stopped his control over her in the only way she felt she could by taking her own life."

Baird was 'struggling with mental health'

The couple, who are both from South Africa, moved to the UK in 2007 and married in 2009, Mr Little said.

He said Ms Baird had been diagnosed as possibly having PTSD after witnessing and suffering from armed carjacking incidents in South Africa.

The prosecutor said she told her GP in May 2016 she "occasionally felt life was not worth living" and by August was "struggling with her mental health".

He said a "tsunami" of incidents built up and Ms Baird repeatedly contacted an employee at Swindon Women's Aid (SWA) and her GP.

When she was offered spaces in a refuge, she turned them down, but later, when she went on to repeatedly seek a place, she was unable to find one.

'This is gaslighting'

Mr Little said Ms Baird told her GP Trybus had raped her on 19 October 2016 after an argument over the defendant paying for her cousin's school fees.

He said: "He grabbed her wrists and had sex with her against her will and also hit her around the face with what she believed was a phone."

Ms Baird told the SWA worker her husband had "strangled her, causing her to pass out", Mr Little said, and she blamed herself because she had told the defendant she wanted to leave him.

"That is gaslighting in any ordinary sense of the word," Mr Little added.

Trybus is alleged to have raped Ms Baird a second time in November 2016.

Baird 'wanted to escape domestic violence'

Mr Little said Ms Baird made an attempt to kill herself on 19 September 2017 and told her doctor she had "wanted to escape the domestic violence".

He said Ms Baird reported struggling with her mental health at the end of September 2017 after she was told by police no further action would be taken in a complaint against her husband.

In November 2017 she had reached a "very low ebb" and told her doctor "she has had a terrible few days with her husband and he has been extremely violent, hitting her with an object and she had to protect her head", Mr Little said.

On 28 November, a day after an ovulation test showed she was potentially pregnant, Ms Baird told a GP she had "constant thoughts" of suicide and still could not find a refuge place.

She was found by a police officer after a call to 101, Mr Little said.

Trybus denies the charges.

The trial continues.

Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK

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