(AP) – Two people were killed in Ukrainian military shelling of the Russian city of Belgorod, officials said Saturday, while Russia claimed to have thwarted another attempt by saboteurs to cross the border.
Saturday’s attack came as Russians entered the second day of voting in a presidential election that is all but certain to extend the rule of President Vladimir Putin, who has suppressed dissent, for another six years.
Regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on the messaging app Telegram that one man and a woman were killed and three others injured in the attack. It was the latest round of long-range missile and rocket fire in Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Five people were also injured when a Ukrainian drone collided with a car in the village of Grotovo, about 2 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, Gladkov said.
Russia’s Ministry of Defense also announced on Saturday that it had thwarted an attempt by a “Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group” to invade Russia from the Sumy region. This follows an armed invasion claimed by Ukraine-based Russian Kremlin opposition forces in Belgorod and Kursk regions on Tuesday.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said Moscow’s military and security forces killed 30 militants in thwarting the invasion.
The Russian Volunteer Forces, one of the groups that claimed to have crossed the border on Tuesday and is “fighting for the freedom of the people of Ukraine and Russia,” claimed on social media on Saturday that it had captured 25 Russian soldiers. A video has been released. .
Anti-invasion or rebellion?Kremlin and Kiev exchange accusations as fighting breaks out in Russia’s Belgorod regionhttps://t.co/B3PHsrQ5Ed
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) May 23, 2023
Another group, the Russian Freedom Corps, warned of a “massive attack” on a military base in Belgorod late Saturday afternoon and called on residents to evacuate. Shortly after, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that Russian air defense forces had shot down 15 rockets over the Belgorod region. A video posted on a local news site showed smoke billowing from the building and debris falling. We were unable to independently verify the authenticity of the video.
Cross-border attacks in the region have occurred sporadically since the war began and have been the subject of claims, counterclaims, disinformation and propaganda.
Also on Saturday, a Ukrainian drone attack caused a fire at Russian oil giant Rosneft’s refinery in the Samara region, about 450 miles (725 kilometers) from the Ukrainian border, the region’s governor, Dmitry Azarov, said. Ta. He said an attack on another refinery had been thwarted. No casualties were reported.
According to Russian state news agency TASS, Ukrainian drones also dropped explosives near a polling station in Ukraine’s illegally annexed Zaporizhzhya region. No injuries or damage were reported.
The attack came a day after a Russian attack on the Ukrainian port city of Odesa killed at least 21 people. Friday’s ballistic missile attack blew up homes in the southern city, followed by a second missile aimed at first responders arriving at the scene, officials said.
Odesa Deputy Mayor Svitlana Bedrekha said on Saturday that more than 50 people were still hospitalized after the attack, according to Ukrainian state media.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy promised a “just response” to the attack in a video address Friday night.
Kiev and Moscow both claim victory in Ukraine’s counter-invasion into Russian regions https://t.co/j3p212cBQ6
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) March 15, 2024
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