A Ukrainian drone strike in Western Russia’s Belgorod region has killed at least six people and wounded 35 others, Russian authorities said Monday, marking one of the deadliest attacks inside Russia since the start of the full-scale invasion over two years ago.
Belgorod region Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said several drones struck a car and two vans carrying workers near the village of Berezovka, some 5 kilometers north of the Kharkiv region in northeastern Ukraine.
“Unfortunately, as a result of the explosion, six people died from injuries at the scene,” Gladkov wrote on Telegram.
Another 35 people were wounded, including two children and one man, who was in serious condition and required surgery, the governor added.
Russia’s Defense Ministry made no mention of the drone strike on Belgorod, saying only that its air defense systems had shot down a Ukrainian drone over the neighboring Kursk region.
Belgorod has been repeatedly targeted by what Russian officials have called indiscriminate Ukrainian attacks on civilians since Moscow invaded Ukraine more than two years ago.
Monday’s drone strike was the deadliest in the Belgorod region since the New Year’s Eve shelling of the city of Belgorod, which killed at least 21 and wounded 110 others.