At least 79 civilians have been killed on Russian soil since Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine last year, the independent news website 7×7 reported Tuesday.
The Belgorod region which borders Ukraine, which has regularly been targeted by drone attacks and shelling, saw the highest share of civilian losses, with 48 people killed.
Other casualties were reported in the Krasnodar region (16), the Bryansk region (10) and the Kursk region (five), with the age of the victims ranging from 5 to 84 years old, the outlet said.
The outlet tallied civilian deaths by monitoring local and national news coverage as well as posts and comments by victims’ relatives and friends on Russian social media. Some of the victims’ names were given to the outlet by the victims’ relatives themselves.
Russia’s regions bordering Ukraine have been regularly shelled since the start of the invasion in February 2022, with civilian and military sites targeted in attacks.
In June, intensifying cross-border attacks sparked a mass evacuation from the Belgorod region’s Shebekino district.
Last year, Belgorod region Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov and Kursk Governor Roman Starovoit announced the formation of territorial self-defense units.
Russia’s capital Moscow has also been targeted by drones this summer. The independent Vyorstka media outlet said this week that Moscow and the Moscow region have been targeted by at least 28 drone attacks.
Ukrainian officials have never acknowledged responsibility for the attacks on Russian territory.
Following a drone attack on the Moscow City financial district, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday said the war was coming back to Russia.
