A source within the Ukrainian security services has told the BBC they were behind Saturday’s attacks in Belgorod. Belgorod is about 20 miles (32km) from the border with Ukraine. Air strikes in cities like this are uncommon but not unprecedented.
The source said they were strictly targeting military infrastructure, and blamed the “incompetent work of Russian air defence” for civilian casualties.
Ukraine’s attacks began yesterday evening, he said.
The source said Ukraine launched more than 70 drones against targets across Russia, saying they were a “response to Russia’s terrorist attacks on Ukrainian cities and civilians”.
A Ukrainian media report, citing a security source, says Kyiv fired at military targets in Russia’s Belgorod region, but “due to unprofessional actions by Russian air defence”, fragments of munitions fell in the city centre.
Website Pravda quotes the source as saying that “deliberate and planned provocations” on the part of Russia were also to blame.
The source was also quoted as saying that Ukrainian forces were attacking in response to Russian strikes on Ukraine yesterday, which killed at least 39 people, according to President Zelensky.
Russia earlier said that several Ukrainian rockets and cluster parts from shot-down missiles had hit Belgorod, killing 14 people and injuring more than 100.
