Ukraine has launched missile attacks on Russia’s Kursk Region, Acting Governor Aleksandr Khinshtein reported on Friday, adding that civilian infrastructure in the town of Rylsk was being targeted.
In a short video message posted on his Telegram channel on Friday, Khinshtein stated that the Ukrainian military had “conducted a missile strike on the town of Rylsk.” He accused Kiev’s forces of “deliberately choosing civilian facilities [and] social facilities as their targets.”
Senior regional officials, as well as all emergency services, had been deployed to the site of the incident, Khinshtein said.
Several Russian Telegram channels and media outlets have published what appears to be footage of the aftermath of the attack shot by eyewitnesses. In some of the video clips, several burning cars and damaged buildings can be seen.
While there have so far been no official reports on the number of casualties, Mash media outlet has claimed that five people lost their lives in the attack, and 26 others sustained injuries. It also alleged that a local school, bus station, and cultural center were hit.
RIA Novosti quoted the head of Rylsk district administration, Andrey Belousov, as confirming that there were an unknown number of casualties. He described the missile strike as “massive,” estimating that approximately 15 projectiles had been fired at the town’s “social” infrastructure.
On Wednesday, the Ukrainian military launched six American-made ATACMS tactical missiles and four air-launched Storm Shadow cruise missiles on a large chemical plant in Russia’s southern Rostov Region, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense.
The statement said Russian air defenses had successfully intercepted all ATACMS and three out of four Storm Shadow missiles. The other British-made rocket apparently veered off course, but still impacted the Kamensky chemical plant, resulting in material damage.
The facility produces compounds for Russia’s military industry.
On Friday, Russia carried out missile strikes on targets in Kiev, with Moscow claiming to have hit a command center as well as the Luch design bureau, which specializes in rocket system development.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the attack came “in response to the actions of the Kiev regime, supported by its Western curators.”