Frayed nerves and uprooted lives in Russian city close to Ukraine border

Residents of the Shebekinsky district of Russia's Belgorod region, who were evacuated following recent attacks on settlements near the Russia-Ukraine border in the course of a military conflict, queue to receive their meals at a temporary accommodation centre located in a sports facility in the city of Belgorod, Russia, June 7, 2023. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

BELGOROD, Russia (Reuters) - A week after fleeing her home in southern Russia to escape cross-border shelling from Ukraine, Irina Shevtsova is adjusting to life as a refugee inside her own country.

Shevtsova is one of thousands of Russians who have abandoned their homes and taken shelter in Belgorod, the nearest big Russian city to the border with Ukraine.