MOSCOW – Ukrainian strikes on the Russian border area of Belgorod killed at least four people over the past 24 hours, the region’s governor said Tuesday.
“It has been a very uneasy, difficult 24 hours for the Belgorod region. Four people died, 20 were injured, 17 remain in medical facilities, two of them in serious condition,” Vyacheslav Gladkov said in a post on Telegram.
The mayor of Belgorod, the region’s administrative capital, said earlier that Ukrainian forces had launched overnight attacks throughout the region.
“The Ukrainian Armed Forces continue to attack Belgorod region’s settlements,” Valentin Demidov said on Telegram.
Russian officials reported attacks in other western regions, including Kursk, Voronezh, Volgograd, Rostov and Astrakhan.
The attack comes after Russia launched a missile barrage at Ukraine on Monday that killed more than three dozen people and ripped open a children’s hospital in Kyiv.
At least 37 people were killed, including three children, with more than 170 wounded, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
The strikes damaged nearly 100 buildings, including multiple schools and a maternity hospital, he added.
Meanwhile, Russian forces destroyed 38 Ukrainian drones overnight in regions near the border, Moscow’s defense ministry said.
“Air defense systems on duty destroyed and intercepted three UAVs over Belgorod region, seven UAVs over Kursk region, two UAVs over Voronezh region, 21 UAVs over Rostov region and five UAVs over Astrakhan region,” the ministry said in a Telegram post.
Astrakhan governor Igor Babushkin said Ukraine had launched a “massive attempt to attack targets with drones” in the north of the region, adding that the attack had been “successfully repelled”.
Both sides have used drones, including larger self-detonating craft with ranges stretching hundreds of kilometres, extensively throughout the conflict, which began in February 2022.
Ukraine has stepped up its attacks on Russian territory this year, targeting both energy sites that it says fuel Russia’s military, as well as towns and villages just across the border.
Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a major new land offensive on Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region in May, in an operation to create a buffer zone and push Ukrainian forces back to protect Russia’s border Belgorod region from shelling.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was set to hold talks with President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, a day after the Indian leader arrived in Moscow amid global outcry over Russian strikes in Ukraine.
Modi, visiting Moscow for the first time since Russia launched its campaign in Ukraine in February 2022, will seek to nurture New Delhi’s long-standing relationship with Moscow.
At the same time, he is courting closer Western security ties after being returned to power last month as leader of the world’s most populous country.
“There are no surprises in preparation. The main thing is to create an atmosphere for meaningful interaction,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told state TV when asked about the talks.
Modi landed in Moscow hours after Russia launched a massive barrage targeting cities across Ukraine Monday that killed more than three dozen people and heavily damaged a children’s hospital in Kyiv, sparking condemnation from governments in Europe and North America.
Russia is a vital supplier of cut-price oil and weapons to India, but Moscow’s isolation from the West and growing ties with Beijing have impacted its partnership with New Delhi.
Western powers have in recent years also cultivated stronger relations with India as a hedge against China and its growing influence across the Asia-Pacific, while pressuring New Delhi to distance itself from Russia.
