Six people were killed and four others wounded overnight when Ukrainian missile strikes hit Russia's Belgorod region, according to acting governor Alexander Shuvaev. Among the injured was a 14-year-old, Shuvaev said in a post on Telegram on Monday, describing the strikes as having set a building alight and damaged a vehicle.
The attack struck the village of Koloskovo in the Valuysky district, an area situated close to the border with Ukraine. According to a report citing AFP-linked coverage, the village lies roughly 15 kilometres from the Ukrainian border, and those hurt in the strike were taken to Valuy Central District Hospital for treatment. A separate account, from Russian state broadcaster RT, described the damage as having burned a farm structure rather than a residential building, and noted that two of the four injured people declined to be hospitalised.
Shuvaev said the injured child had been sent to hospital for care, while two other victims received medical attention at the scene.
How does this fit into the wider pattern of cross-border strikes?
The strikes on Belgorod came just a day after Russian officials described a separate Ukrainian assault as the most extensive of the year, an attack in which at least seven people were reported killed. Belgorod, which borders Ukraine, has repeatedly come under fire as Kyiv has expanded its drone and missile campaign deeper into Russian territory in recent weeks.
This is not an isolated incident for the region. A report from late July detailed how Ukrainian drone strikes in Belgorod killed three people and injured 19 more, including in an attack that targeted a bus, underscoring how frequently the border area has been struck in recent months.
What happened elsewhere over the weekend?
Russian attacks on Ukraine on Saturday night killed at least seven people and injured more than 39 others. In the Zaporizhzhia region, a man and a woman died after their private house was struck by a guided aerial bomb, officials said, while five more people were killed in attacks elsewhere across the country.
Russia said its Saturday-night strikes on Kyiv targeted a FirePoint facility that produces components for Ukraine's Flamingo missiles, as well as a factory manufacturing drone parts. The bombardment also struck a book market in the capital's Pochayna district, leaving scorched books scattered across the site.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said 13 regions of the country had come under attack during the past week, citing more than 1,550 attack drones, nearly 1,560 guided aerial bombs and 62 missiles launched by Russian forces. Both Kyiv and Moscow continue to accuse each other of deliberately targeting civilians.
What has Ukraine been striking inside Russia?
Kyiv has intensified drone strikes on targets deep within Russian territory over the past few weeks. On Saturday night alone, Ukraine launched approximately 822 drones at Russia, with around 600 of them directed at Moscow. A regional governor described the assault on the Russian capital as one of the most massive drone attacks it had experienced in recent memory.
During that wave of strikes, five people were killed in Russia's south-western Rostov region, according to its governor. A woman died when a civilian bus was struck in Belgorod, officials said, and an 83-year-old man was killed in a drone strike in the Moscow region.
Among the targets hit was a warehouse belonging to Wildberries, the Russian online retailer often compared to Amazon. Ukraine has repeatedly targeted the company's logistics network since July. Ukraine's defence ministry said the most recent strike meant seven of the ten largest Wildberries logistics centres had now been disabled.
How has the energy infrastructure been affected?
Ukrainian energy company Naftogaz said on Monday that Russia had struck its facilities 13 times over the course of the past week, as Moscow has stepped up missile attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure in recent weeks.
Key Facts
- Six people were killed and four injured in Ukrainian strikes on Russia's Belgorod region, according to acting governor Alexander Shuvaev.
- The strike hit Koloskovo village in the Valuysky district, close to the Ukrainian border; injured were treated at Valuy Central District Hospital, per outside reporting.
- Russian attacks on Ukraine on Saturday night killed at least seven people and injured more than 39.
- Ukraine fired roughly 822 drones at Russia on Saturday night, with about 600 aimed at Moscow.
- Seven of the ten largest Wildberries logistics centres have now been disabled by Ukrainian strikes, per Ukraine's defence ministry.
