Russia says five killed, 46 injured in Ukraine strike on Belgorod

[August 31, 2024]  MOSCOW (Reuters) -Five people were killed and 46 injured in a Ukrainian attack on the southwestern Russian city of Belgorod late on Friday, the local governor said, the latest in a series of strikes by Ukraine on the city in recent months.  

Vyacheslav Gladkov said 37 of the injured, including seven children, were taken to hospitals in the city, which lies 40 km (25 miles) north of the border with Ukraine.

Video filmed from inside a vehicle, posted on social media and purporting to show the attack, showed a car being blown up while moving along a road. Seconds later another explosion is seen meters away. Reuters could not immediately verify the authenticity of the video.

A view shows a destroyed house following what local authorities called a Ukrainian military strike, in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in the town of Shebekino in the Belgorod Region, Russia, in this handout picture released August 31, 2024. Governor of Belgorod Region Vyacheslav Gladkov via Telegram/Handout via REUTERS

Russia's Foreign Ministry condemned the attack.

"Once again we call on all responsible governments and relevant international structures to strongly condemn this brutal terrorist attack and publicly distance themselves from the Kyiv regime and its Western curators who commit such crimes," it said on Saturday.

The ministry added that Russia's "special military operation" will continue until it reaches all the goals including Ukraine's "demilitarization and de-nazification".

Russia's Investigation Committee said on its Telegram channel that it had initiated a criminal case into the attack.

Authorities also reported that a woman was injured on Saturday during Ukrainian shelling of the border town of Shebekino in the Belgorod region.

Ukraine has staged frequent attacks on Belgorod and other Russian border regions in recent months, with the city the focal point of the attacks.

Ukraine and Russia say they do not deliberately target civilians in the war that began when Russia sent thousands of troops into its smaller neighbour in February 2022.

(Reporting by Vladimir SoldatkinEditing by William Mallard, Frances Kerry and Helen Popper)

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