MOSCOW, Russia: Ukraine attacked several villages in the Russian border region of Belgorod and the occupied eastern city of Lysychansk on Wednesday, killing three people, authorities and Russian media said.
Belgorod lies just across the border from northeastern Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, an area that has seen intense fighting since Russia launched a major ground offensive on May 10.
“Several aerial targets were shot down as they approached the village of Belenkoye. To our great regret, one civilian was killed,” Belgorod Region Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.
One civilian in the Russian village of Belenkoye was injured, while a Ukrainian airstrike near the border town of Shebekino wounded another, he said.
Kremlin said its new offensive against Kharkiv is aimed at creating a “security zone” to avoid future Ukrainian attacks on its border region.
Moscow claims it has captured a dozen Ukrainian villages, making its most significant territorial gains in 18 months.
Separately, Ukraine shelled Lysychansk in eastern Lugansk region, killing two and wounding four, Russian-installed Lugansk Governor Leonid Pasechnik said in a Telegram post.
Lysychansk was captured by Russian forces in mid-2022 and is close to the Eastern Front.
