Ukrainian attacks in and around the western Russian city of Belgorod have injured at least eight people, Russian authorities said Thursday, as the country marks the 79th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany.
“The city of Belgorod and the Belgorod district came under an air attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. There were direct hits on residential apartment buildings and cars,” Belgorod region Governor Vyachelsav Gladkov said on Telegram.
“According to preliminary information, eight people were injured: seven adults and one child,” he added.
Like other Russian regions near the border with Ukraine, Belgorod has canceled its military parade and other festivities marking Victory Day, a national holiday.
According to Gladkov, 19 apartment buildings, one home, and 37 vehicles were damaged in the city of Belgorod as a result of Thursday’s attacks. In the nearby village of Dubovoye, four homes and three cars were damaged, he added.
Belgorod is frequently targeted by Ukrainian strikes, including one on Monday that killed eight people and wounded 35 others.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said Belgorod was attacked with several Ukrainian RM-70 Vampire multiple rocket launchers overnight, adding that 15 rockets and a drone had been downed over the region.
Meanwhile, it said two other drones were shot down in the Bryansk region, which also borders Ukraine, and three others in Kursk. The governors of those regions did not report any injuries or damage.
Likewise, the southern Krasnodar region’s crisis center said an overnight Ukrainian drone attack struck a fuel depot in the village of Yurovka near annexed Crimea.
“About six drones were destroyed but many fell on the complex. As a result, a fire broke out and several reservoirs were damaged,” authorities in that region said.
AFP contributed reporting.