Ukraine War: Seven dead in attack on Russian Belgorod region

Seven people were killed and at least 35 injured in an air strike in the Russian region of Belgorod on the border with Ukraine.

Regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov blamed Ukrainian forces for the strike near the village of Berezovka, which he said was carried out with drones and attacked minibuses transporting workers to a meat production plant, as well as a private car.

Mr Gladkov said several other locations in the Belgorod region had also been attacked in the past 24 hours, with residential buildings damaged.

The Belgorod region has been frequently attacked by Ukrainian forces since Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022.

Hours later, Mr. Gladkov reported another fatal attack, this time in the village of Nikolskoye. At least one person was killed in an attack on an outdoor cooking area, he said.

The deadliest attack to date in the region occurred in December, when a drone and missile attack in the city of Belgorod killed 25 people and injured another 100.

In March, Mr Gladkov said 9,000 children were being evacuated from the city and wider region after authorities blamed Ukraine for the shelling.

Meanwhile, Russia has continued to target Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, damaging a facility in the northern Sumy region, which borders the Belgorod region, in a nighttime bombardment.

Ukraine’s Energy Ministry said the attack left more than 400,000 people without power.

Local authorities said power would be partially restored by morning.

According to the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Russia is gathering troops in the Belgorod, Kursk and Bryansk regions to prepare an offensive against northeastern Ukraine and the city of Kharkiv.

Citing a Ukrainian military observer, the ISW said the Russian military had assembled around 50,000 troops. Ukrainian officials have long warned that Russia is preparing an attack to capture Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city.

On Monday, the Russian Defense Ministry said it had begun preparations for missile exercises to simulate the use of non-strategic nuclear weapons.

Tactical nuclear weapons are small nuclear warheads and delivery systems intended for use on the battlefield or for a limited attack.

The TASS news agency reported that the exercises ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin were expected to take place “in the near future” and would involve missile formations as well as air and naval forces.

The decision to hold the drills was in response to “provocative statements and threats made by some Western officials towards the Russian Federation,” the ministry added.

Although Russia did not name the officials, it repeatedly criticized French President Emmanuel Macron’s comments about possible intervention by NATO troops in Ukraine.