Ukraine drone attacks on Russia’s Belgorod region kill one, injure four, governor says

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(Reuters) – An elderly woman was killed, four people injured and scores of buildings damaged in multiple air attacks by Ukraine on the Belgorod region, the governor of the southern Russian region that borders Ukraine said on Tuesday.

The Russian defence ministry said that its air defence systems destroyed a total of 29 Ukraine-launched drones over the region’s territory.

An elderly woman died in a village near the Belgorod city, which is the administrative centre of the Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of the region said on the Telegram messaging app.

At least six of the drones were destroyed over the Yakovlevsky district in the Belgorod region, Glakdov said. Two people were injured there with shrapnel wounds, he added.

Another person was injured after a drone was downed over the city of Belgorod, and another woman was injured in one of the region’s villages, Gladkov said.

He said that scores of buildings and cars across the region were damaged.

Reuters could not independently verify the reports. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine. Both sides deny targeting civilians in the war, which Russia started with a full-scale invasion on its smaller neighbour in 2022.

Ukraine says that its attacks on Russia’s military, transport and energy infrastructure undermine Moscow’s overall war efforts and are in response to Russia’s relentless attacks on Ukraine’s infrastructure.

(Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Michael Perry)