Ukraine has carried out a major air offensive on Russia’s border regions, a day after Moscow launched its biggest wave of airstrikes on Kyiv and other Ukrainian regions since the war began.
The Ukrainian armed forces posted a video on Telegram depicting the sky above Belgorod, showing at least one building on fire.
Belgorod’s governor said at least one person was killed and 10 homes were damaged, while the water supply to the city of Belgorod was disrupted. Russia’s defence ministry said 13 Ukrainian rockets were intercepted.
In the neighbouring Bryansk region, the governor said six Ukrainian drones were downed, and that there were no casualties.
Ukraine’s military did not immediately comment on the impact of the attacks.
The attacks follow the deaths of 31 people in Ukraine, marking what Kyiv described as the biggest day of airstrikes since the war began.
The 18-hour onslaught left more than 144 people injured, with an unknown number buried under rubble, officials reported. Among the damaged buildings were a maternity hospital, apartment blocks, and schools.
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia used every sort of weapon it had to launch the biggest aerial bombardment of the war, including 158 drones and hypersonic, ballistic and cruise missiles.
The intensified attacks from Russia have once again been strongly condemned by the international community.
UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres condemned Russia’s attack “in the strongest terms”, saying attacks on civilians must end immediately.
Within hours, the UK announced the dispatch of hundreds of defence missiles to Kyiv, with ministers condemning Russian president Vladimir Putin’s “barbarity”.
US president Joe Biden said the 18-hour bombardment underscored that the Russian president “must be stopped”.
Meanwhile, a Polish general reported that a Russian missile appeared to have entered the airspace of the Nato member after an unidentified aerial object was spotted during the Russian attacks on Ukraine.
