KYIV, Ukraine — The southern Russian province of Belgorod on the border Ukraine came under attack on Friday from Ukrainian artillery, mortar shells and drones, officials said, two hours after two drones struck a Russian city in the region near the Crimean Peninsula.
Moscow troops stormed a building housing psychiatric and veterinary clinics in the city of Dnipro, in central Ukraine, killing two people and injuring 30, including two children, Ukrainian officials said.
A video released by regional governor Serhiy Lysak showed flames engulfing a three-story building that appeared to be on the verge of collapse, with parts of the wall standing still, as firefighters battled the flames.
A Russian S-300 missile has hit a dam in the Karlivka district of Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, threatening nearby villages with flooding.
The town of Graivoron in the Belgorod region of Russia, about 7 kilometers (more than 4 miles) from the Ukrainian border, burned for several hours, destroying four houses, a store, a car, a gas pipeline and a power line, Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov also said.
Near the border, a recreation center, a store and an empty house were destroyed in the village of Glotovo. A woman was wounded when Novaya Tavolzhanka near the bullets fired, Gladkov said.
Earlier this week, Belgorod region was the target of the worst cross-border attacks from Ukraine since the war began 15 months ago. Details of the attack were unclear. Russia has criticized the Ukrainian military, but two Russian groups have said they were involved, with the aim of toppling Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Authorities in the southern Russian city of Krasnodar, in the region of the same name on the border with Crimea, said two drones had crashed there. Witnesses told local media that they heard what sounded like a bomb and two explosions.
The explosion tore a hole in the roof of one building and blew out the windows of another.
“We just fell asleep and there was a loud bang,” said Tatiana Safonova. “We ran outside. There were people running, but nothing was happening. “
He said that the voice had already been described to him “as a sound, a passing sound.”
Governor of Krasnodar region Veniamin Kondratyev wrote on Telegram that there were no casualties and that some buildings were damaged but essential equipment was not damaged.
Krasnodar Mayor Yevgeny Naumov said a residential building and an office were destroyed.
Drone attacks against Russia’s border areas have been regular since the attacks began in February 2022, with attacks escalating last month. Earlier this month, a gas station in Krasnodar was attacked by drones two days in a row.
At a meeting in Estonia, German and Baltic leaders dismissed concerns about Russian expansion.
“Russia attacked Ukraine, so Ukraine can defend itself,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said. “It is clear that the equipment we have provided will be used only in Ukraine.”
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said “Ukraine has no interest in invading Russia,” and Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte added: “I’m surprised by Russia’s concerns, because Russia is at war — so it’s very surprising to think that the war could be in another territory.” which you entered.”
The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine on Thursday published a video that appears to show a naval plane heading for the Russian submarine Ivan Khurs in the Black Sea. The video did not show the drone hitting the ship.
The video followed reports by the Russian Defense Ministry on Wednesday that Ukraine launched an unsuccessful attack on the Ivan Khurs using three unmanned speedboats, all three of which were destroyed before reaching the ship. Moscow released a video showing the destruction of one of the naval drones.
At least two people have been killed and three others injured in a Russian attack on Ukraine in the past 24 hours, the Ukrainian President’s office said on Friday.
Late Friday, authorities in the Russian Donetsk region said two rockets had exploded in the city of Mariupol, where a months-long siege at the beginning of the war left large parts of the city in ruins.
Russia’s Tass news agency cited an unnamed official as saying it had long-range Storm Shadows, which the United Kingdom handed over to Ukraine this month.
In Moscow, ChinaSpecial envoy Li Hui met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and exchanged “opinions on the current situation in Ukraine and hopes for resolving the conflict,” according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.
Lavrov cited “significant obstacles to the resumption of peace talks created by the Ukrainian side and Western officials,” he said, but did not reveal what Li said or wanted.
Li visited Kyiv earlier this month. Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s government has said it is neutral and wants to mediate in the conflict, but has backed Moscow politically. Beijing released a proposed peace plan in February, but Ukrainian allies rejected it, insisting that Russian President Vladimir Putin withdraw his troops first.
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Yuras Karmanau in Tallinn, Estonia, and Elise Morton in London, contributed.
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