Seven killed in Ukrainian missile strike on Russian city

BELGOROD, Russia: Seven people including a one-year-old girl were killed in a Ukrainian missile attack on Thursday on the southern Russian city of Belgorod, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.

Seventeen other people, including four children, were hospitalised with injuries, with six in serious condition, Gladkov said, adding that two children had already been released for outpatient treatment. He said the one-year-old child’s name was Valentina.

“We are all grieving with the families and friends of the victims,” Gladkov wrote on Telegram. “I want to express my sincere condolences, realising that there are no words that can comfort this grief.”

Belgorod is the nearest major Russian city to the border with Ukraine, and the city and surrounding region have come under frequent attack since February 2022 when Russia sent forces into Ukraine in what it calls a “special military operation”.

Russian authorities said 25 civilians were killed in the largest of these attacks at the end of December.

The Russian health ministry said it had despatched a team of medical specialists from federal centres to Belgorod.

Foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called the events an “act of terrorism by the Kyiv regime” on Telegram and said Russia would take the case to the UN Security Council.

The Russian defence ministry said its air defence systems had shot down 14 Ukrainian missiles over the Belgorod region. Reuters could not independently confirm the report.