[1/4] Firefighters work on a burning house in the village of Sobolevka in Belgorod region, Russia, after it was shelled by Ukrainian forces, according to the regional governor. This handout image was published on June 2, 2023. Governor of the Russian region of Belgorod Vyacheslav Gladkov about… Read more
June 2 (Portal) – The governor of Russia’s Belgorod region said four people were killed in two separate Ukrainian shelling raids on towns near the border on Friday, while officials in surrounding regions reported nighttime drone strikes.
Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote on Telegram that the town of Maslova Pristan, some 15 kilometers (9 miles) from Ukraine’s northern Kharkiv region, was shelled and fragments hit passing cars.
“There were two women traveling in one of them. They died on the spot from their injuries,” he said.
Gladkow later said two people were killed and six injured when rockets struck the town of Sobolevka, 125 km southeast of the first incident. The victims were standing outside near residential buildings, he said.
Sobolevka is located 14 km from the border with Ukraine. Russian officials have reported increased attacks from northern Ukraine in recent days.
Pro-Ukrainian forces have repeatedly shelled the town of Shebekino over the past week, Russian officials said. All road and rail traffic in the district was suspended until June 30, Gladkow said.
He said more than 2,500 people were being evacuated from the Shebekino area as it was unsafe to stay there.
The governor of the Bryansk region north of Belgorod said four houses were damaged by shelling, while the head of the neighboring Kursk region said some buildings were damaged in an overnight drone strike.
Long-range drones also hit two cities in the Smolensk region overnight, the local governor.
Portal could not independently verify the reported attacks.
UKRAINE lifts airstrike warnings
Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces repelled three cross-border attacks by alleged Ukrainian “terrorist formations” in the Belgorod region on Thursday.
Ukraine denies military involvement in the raids, claiming they were carried out by volunteer Russian fighters.
Ukrainian authorities lifted airstrike alerts across much of the country, and officials in Kiev said the defenses appeared to have shot down more than 30 missiles and drones in the early hours of Friday.
Russia has carried out around 20 separate missile and drone strikes against cities since early May.
Moscow denies targeting civilians or committing war crimes, but its forces have devastated cities and repeatedly attacked residential areas.
Reporting by Portal. Editors: Gareth Jones, David Ljunggren and Grant McCool
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