At least nine people were wounded on Monday by the latest Ukrainian attack on Russia’s border region of Belgorod, the local governor has said. More than 36 aerial targets were intercepted by Russian forces during the bombardment.
One man has received a serious chest wound, while his daughters were affected by a shockwave, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote in a Telegram post. All of the injured have been hospitalized.
The attack damaged several homes, with windows shattered in eight high-rise buildings in the city of Belgorod, with three smaller houses also sustaining damage.
A local school and three vehicles, one of which was completely burned, were damaged by the attack, the governor said. Several houses outside the city are also in need of repair, according to Gladkov.
The Russian Defense Ministry said it had downed 17 projectiles fired by Ukrainian forces from Czech-supplied Vampire multiple rocket launchers during Monday's onslaught. Later in the day, the military reported the interception of another 19 projectiles fired by the same system. The military also intercepted several drones over Belgorod Region.
Belgorod, along with other Russian regions bordering Ukraine, is frequently subjected to artillery and drone attacks by Kiev forces. The situation escalated last month, when the Ukrainian forces repeatedly attempted to breach the border, while ramping up artillery, missile and drone strikes on Belgorod.
The ultimately unsuccessful cross-border attacks, which lasted for eight days, cost Ukraine more than 3,500 servicemen, 23 tanks, 34 other armored vehicles, five Vampire multiple rocket launchers and a Mi-8 helicopter, according to the Russian military.