Russia says toll from Ukrainian shelling on border city has risen to 24 as it vows to retaliate
CNN
Two children were among those killed in the Russian city of Belgorod on Saturday, Russia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations said.
At least 24 people, including three children, were killed and 108 others wounded in a Ukrainian attack on the Russian border city of Belgorod on Saturday, Russian authorities said, vowing to retaliate. The latest toll was given by Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov, who blamed “massive shelling” by Ukraine’s armed forces. “This crime will not go unpunished,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement. “The Kiev regime … is trying to divert attention from the defeats on the front lines and to provoke us into taking similar actions.” Ukrainian attacks on Russian regions near the border have continued almost daily for over a year, sometimes resulting in civilian casualties, but this would be one of the single deadliest incidents yet reported. CNN cannot independently confirm the death toll. The attack also comes soon after Russia launched its largest aerial assault on Ukraine of the conflict, which simmered for years before Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022.