Belgorod region Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said that 12 civilians were injured in the attacks on settlements in the region located on the Ukrainian border in the past 24 hours.
“The mopping-up operation is still ongoing,” he added. According to the official, residents of Grayvoron and several other villages and settlements have been evacuated.
Gladkov said that the shelling is conducted with mortars and multiple rocket launchers. Power supply is interrupted in 14 villages, 29 private residential buildings and three cars are damaged.
On 22 May, the authorities claimed that “a Ukrainian army sabotage and reconnaissance group” made an incursion into the Grayvoronsky district, Belgorod region. It was reported that clashes broke out in border-adjacent settlements, while Ukrainian armoured vehicles arrived at the Grayvoron checkpoint. A woman born in 1941 died during an evacuation mission organised in the Grayvoronsky district.
The Russian Investigative Committee opened a criminal case on six counts, including terrorism. The “counter-terrorism operation” order was declared in the Belgorod region which bans dissemination of any information apart from the officially issued reports.
Ukraine said that the attack was carried out by the Freedom of Russia Legion and the Russian Volunteer Corps.