According to reports, a rocket strike by the Ukrainians on the Russian city of Belgorod on Thursday left over a dozen people wounded and at least six dead.
Moscow claims that indiscriminate cross-border fire has been frequently directed at Belgorod, which is located approximately 30 kilometers (19 miles) from Ukraine.
Videos circulated on social media featured a broken storefront encircled by rubble, with a distressed woman audibly crying. A body draped in a blanket was visible in one footage.
According to Russia’s health ministry, the attack claimed the lives of six persons, including a toddler.
“Another 17 people, including four children, were injured of varying severity,” said the statement.
It claimed that a mall had been struck and placed the blame on Ukraine.
In addition, seven residences and five apartment complexes sustained damage, according to a message made by Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov on his Telegram channel.
According to the ministry of defense, an RM-70 multiple rocket launcher system fired 14 missiles from Ukraine over the region that it shot down.
Russian officials withheld information regarding whether damage was caused by falling debris after Ukrainian rockets were intercepted by air defenses or whether the rockets struck the structures directly.
Kiev did not immediately provide a statement. A local vendor named Valentina told the news agency RIA that she was weighing cheese when she heard “booms” and advised her customers to hide.
“They crouched down. I said run away. We ran. But where to run to, it’s a building. We sat down in the corner,” she added.
Since authorities claimed that a Ukrainian strike in late December had killed twenty-five people, they had started to evacuate part of the city’s residents last month.
