Child injured in Ukrainian drone attack on Russian territory – authorities
A Ukrainian UAV struck an apartment block in the Russian city of Belgorod on Sunday, the governor of Belgorod Region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said in a Telegram post on Monday. The attack has left a ten-year-old girl injured, he added.
The child suffered multiple injuries to her leg and arm and was taken to a local hospital by her parents, the governor said. She was walking near the targeted building when the drone hit it, Gladkov said.
According to the acting head of the regional hospital, the girl was in a “moderately grave condition” and is about to undergo surgery.
The attack also damaged five apartments in the block as well as 16 cars parked nearby and an infrastructure facility, Gladkov said. According to the governor, the Ukrainian forces targeted a dozen towns and villages in the Belgorod Region with shelling and drone attacks. None of the strikes resulted in any casualties or serious material damage, he said, adding that five Ukrainian UAVs were shot down.
On Sunday, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that a Ukrainian drone was destroyed over the region that borders Ukraine. Military officials noted at that time that the incident did not cause any casualties or material damage.
The Russian border regions of Kursk, Bryansk and Belgorod have been frequently shelled by artillery and attacked by drones since Moscow launched its military operation in Ukraine in February 2022. The constant shelling of the city of Shebekino, located close to the Ukrainian border, prompted the Belgorod regional authorities to evacuate civilians from the hardest-hit areas.
In early June, armed groups from Ukraine launched a series of incursions into the Belgorod region. The fighting in early June centered on the village of Novaya Tavolzhanka. The intruders suffered significant casualties and were eventually driven back, the Russian Defense Ministry said at the time.
The incursions were conducted by the Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK) and the ‘Freedom of Russia’ Legion, two Kiev-aligned units that include fighters with neo-Nazi backgrounds. In late June, the governor of the western Russian Pskov region, Mikhail Vedernikov, revealed that 14 soldiers from his region had died repelling one such raid.
