Ukrainian drones target civilians in Russian border regions
Ukrainian forces have launched multiple drone and missile attacks on Russia's Belgorod and Kursk regions, damaging residential property and injuring civilians – including in targeted strikes on moving vehicles, according to local officials.
A missile hit the town of Rylsk in Kursk Region on Sunday, acting regional head Aleksandr Khinshtein reported. The blast heavily damaged a hotel and several nearby homes, according to footage shared by Khinshtein on Telegram.
'Two men suffered serious shrapnel wounds to the head and arms, as well as bone fractures – they are in critical condition. A woman received shrapnel wounds to the forearm and thigh, but her life is not in danger,' Khinshtein wrote, adding that all the victims are receiving medical assistance.
A Ukrainian assault on the neighboring Belgorod Region involved UAV strikes on several locations. One woman was injured when a first-person view (FPV) drone struck her moving car on the Krasny Oktyabr-Bessonovka road, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram.
'She was hospitalized with shrapnel wounds to her arm and leg,' Gladkov wrote. In a similar incident in the village of Borki, a 17-year-old boy suffered a leg injury when an FPV drone struck a vehicle. Another civilian sustained shrapnel wounds to the back in an attack on the village of Bogun-Gorodok.
Additional strikes caused damage across several areas. In Arkhangelskoye, windows were broken in a private home, while a production facility was hit in Sobolevka. Vehicles were struck in Urazovo and along the Arkatovo–Posokhovo road. In Chaiki, a drone exploded mid-air, damaging an agricultural building.
Last year, Kiev targeted Russia's Kursk Region in a major incursion, briefly capturing border territories that Ukrainian officials had hoped to use as leverage in future peace negotiations. The Russian military announced the full liberation of the area in late April, but Kiev has said its cross-border operations continue, with the increasing use of drones and missiles.
During Russian President Vladimir Putin's unilaterally declared Victory Day truce from May 8 to May 11, Ukrainian forces attempted five cross-border incursions into Belgorod and Kursk regions, all of which failed, according to Russian officials.
Despite Ukraine's repeated refusal to honor past ceasefires – and efforts to 'intimidate' world leaders who gathered in Moscow for the anniversary celebrations – Putin again offered Kiev the opportunity to restart direct negotiations without any preconditions in Istanbul. Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky, however, reiterated that Kiev expects nothing less than a full 30-day ceasefire before any talks can resume.
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