On this handout picture launched by Belgorod area governor Vyacheslav Gladkov’s telegram channel on Tuesday, Might 23, 2023, a broken armored navy automobile is seen after combating in Russia’s western Belgorod area on Tuesday. Russian troops and safety forces fought for a second day Tuesday in opposition to an alleged cross-border raid that Moscow blamed on Ukrainian […]
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian forces shot down “a big quantity” of drones in Russia’s southern Belgorod area, a neighborhood official mentioned Wednesday, a day after Moscow introduced that its forces crushed a cross-border raid within the space from Ukraine.
The drones had been intercepted in a single day over the province, Belgorod Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov mentioned in a Telegram publish. He mentioned that nobody had been harm, however unspecified administrative buildings, residential buildings and vehicles had been broken.
Ukrainian officers made no fast remark.
Russia mentioned the day prior to this that it beat again one in every of battle’s most severe cross-border assaults, with the Protection Ministry saying that greater than 70 attackers had been killed in a battle in Belgorod that lasted round 24 hours. It made no point out of any Russian casualties.
Russian Protection Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov mentioned that native troops, airstrikes and artillery routed the attackers.
Twelve native civilians had been wounded within the assault, officers mentioned, and an older girl died throughout an evacuation.
Particulars of the incident within the rural area, mendacity about 45 miles north of town of Kharkiv in japanese Ukraine and much from the entrance traces of the virtually 15-month battle, are unclear.
Moscow blamed the incursion that started Monday on Ukrainian navy saboteurs. Kyiv described it as an rebellion in opposition to the Kremlin by Russian partisans. It was unimaginable to reconcile the 2 variations, to say with certainty who was behind the assault or to establish its goals.
The area is a Russian navy hub holding gasoline and ammunition depots. Moscow officers declined to say what number of attackers had been concerned within the assault or touch upon why efforts to place down the attackers took so lengthy.
The Belgorod area, just like the neighboring Bryansk area and different border areas, has witnessed sporadic spillover from the battle, which Russia began by invading Ukraine in February 2022.
Elsewhere, the Ukrainian Basic Employees mentioned Wednesday that “heavy combating” is constant inside Bakhmut, days after Russia mentioned that it fully captured the devastated metropolis.
Bakhmut lies in Donetsk province, one in every of 4 provinces Russia illegally annexed final fall. The nine-month battle for Bakhmut has killed tens of hundreds of individuals as Ukraine pursues its technique of grinding down the Kremlin’s invasion forces.
The top of Ukraine’s floor forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi, mentioned that Kyiv’s forces “are persevering with their defensive operation” in Bakhmut, and have attained unspecified “successes” on town’s outskirts. He gave no additional particulars.
Ukrainian officers have insisted the battle for Bakhmut isn’t over.
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Observe AP’s protection of the battle in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
