Two women were killed and two others seriously wounded in a shelling attack on the Russian border region of Belgorod, the region's governor said.
“The Armed Forces of Ukraine fired at a road in the village of Maslova Pristan in the Shebekino district. Shell fragments hit cars passing by. Two women traveling in one of them died on the spot from their wounds,” Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said in a Telegram post.
The Belgorod region has faced intensified shelling in recent weeks, with near-daily attacks reported in the past week. Moscow has blamed Ukraine for the attacks — but Kyiv has never acknowledged a role.
Video published on Russian social media channels appears to show the aftermath of the road shelling.
This week, anti-Kremlin units made of Russian citizens fighting for Ukraine — the Freedom of Russia Legion and the Russian Volunteer Corps — also announced fresh incursions into the Belgorod region.
The Freedom of Russia Legion said Friday that fighting continued near the Belgorod region village of Novaya Tovolzhanka. The statement could not be independently verified.
Both anti-Kremlin units claimed responsibility for an attack on the Belgorod region last week in which Russian authorities said one man was killed and a dozen received injuries.
Regional authorities said that Friday's reports of another incursion of “Ukrainian saboteurs” were fake news, according to the state-run RIA Novosti news agency.
On Thursday, Russia’s Defense Ministry said it had repelled an attempted incursion by “Ukrainian terrorist formations,” adding that it used jets and artillery to repel the attacks.
Local officials said Thursday that 12 people had been wounded in the previous 24 hours in the district of Shebekino, whose residents poured into temporary shelters.
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