Six people were reported killed and four others wounded in a strike on Russia’s Belgorod region, according to local authorities, as Ukraine and Russia continue to expand long-range attacks beyond the immediate front line.
Acting Belgorod Governor Alexander Shuvaev said the attack hit the village of Koloskovo in the Valuysky district near the Ukrainian border. Among the four people injured was a 14-year-old child. Two casualties were taken to hospital, while two others received treatment but declined admission.
Shuvaev said a structure at the site burned down and a passenger vehicle was damaged. The casualty figures have not been independently verified, and there is some uncertainty over the exact timing of the strike, with local reports suggesting it may have occurred on Sunday evening rather than Monday morning.
The incident came during another wave of Ukrainian long-range attacks on Russian territory. Russia’s Defence Ministry said air defences intercepted 205 drones over several regions, occupied Crimea and the Black and Azov seas. The figure remains a Russian military claim and has not been independently confirmed.
Ukraine has increasingly used long-range drones to strike Russian military facilities, logistics hubs, energy infrastructure and other sites it says support Moscow’s war effort. Belgorod, which borders Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, has been particularly exposed to missiles, drones and cross-border attacks since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Russia has described many of the strikes as deliberate attacks on civilians, while Ukraine generally says its long-range operations are directed at military or war-related infrastructure. Claims from either side over individual attacks remain difficult to verify independently.
The latest deaths underline the growing reach of the conflict. As both Russia and Ukraine rely more heavily on missiles and long-range drones, communities far from conventional battlefield positions are increasingly exposed to the war.