Alwaght- Five people have been killed and many others injured in a Ukrainian missile strike on the Russian border city of Belgorod, Russian broadcaster RT cited the city’s governor as saying.
The Russian Defense Ministry claimed to have shot down more than a dozen Ukrainian projectiles over the region.
At least 18 others have been injured, including five children, the governor also confirmed, adding that the wounded are being transported to hospitals and receiving all necessary care.
The Russian Defense Ministry said that just after noon local time on Thursday, Moscow’s forces intercepted 14 projectiles launched from a RM-70 Vampire multiple-launch rocket system over Belgorod Region, further reported RT.
Photos and videos from the scene, which have been circulating online, show a heavily damaged building in the mall cordoned off by local law enforcement and its windows shattered. Clips shared on the Mash Telegram channel also show ambulances arriving at the stadium, with medics tending to an apparently injured person.
The city have come under recurring Ukrainian drone raids several times since Russia started its “special military operation” in early 2022. The deadliest attack was carried out in December, killing 25 and injuring more than 100.
President Vladimir Putin said he ordered the military campaign in Ukraine in response to calls for defense from ethnic Russians in eastern Ukraine, though checking NATO expansion eastward cannot be ignored as a major motivation for the war on Ukraine.
