December 30, 2023, 09:40 GMT
Updated 12 minutes ago
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Footage released by the Russian Emergencies Ministry shows burning cars being extinguished by firefighters
Ukraine has carried out a series of deadly airstrikes on targets in southwestern Russia in the past 24 hours, according to Russian officials.
According to the Russian Emergencies Ministry, ten people, including a child, were killed and more than 40 injured in the city of Belgorod.
The Russian Defense Ministry previously said it had destroyed dozens of missiles and drones fired by Ukraine.
The attacks followed Russian attacks on Ukraine that killed 39 people.
These attacks were described by Kiev as Russia's largest missile attack to date in the war against Ukraine.
Ukrainian media, citing intelligence sources, report that more than 70 drones were used in a series of attacks on Russia and only military targets were attacked. They added that a group of drones successfully attacked an electronics factory in the Bryansk region that produces Russian military equipment such as long-range missiles and anti-aircraft systems.
The Russian president had been informed of the attacks, his spokesman said.
An initial statement from the Russian Defense Ministry on Saturday said 13 missiles had been destroyed across the region overnight.
It was later said that 32 drones were shot down in the Bryansk, Oryol, Kursk and Moscow regions.
Meanwhile, the governor of the Bryansk region said two villages were attacked and a child born in 2014 was killed.
He said the attacks damaged 55 homes, two private businesses, a soccer field, a recreation center and a preschool.
Moscow has repeatedly accused Ukraine of being behind drone attacks in recent months, but Ukraine has not claimed responsibility.
The attacks came after Russia launched a massive bombardment across Ukraine, killing 39 people and wounding nearly 160. Several cities were hit, including the capital Kiev.
Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschsko said on Saturday that at least 16 people were killed in the city, marking the deadliest toll yet for civilians in the capital.
On Friday evening, an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council overwhelmingly condemned Russia's renewed mass bombing in Ukraine and said the attacks must stop “immediately.”
Countries including the United States, Britain and France said the attack on civilian infrastructure violated international rules of war.
“Instead of peace, Putin has chosen to mark this holiday with an unprecedented number of drone and missile attacks,” said U.S. Representative to the United Nations John Kelley.
Russia said Ukrainian air defenses were responsible for the damage to civilian buildings.