shell missile russia ukraine
Strike comes just a day after Russia warned that it could target 'command centres' in Kiev as payback for the raids. Ukraine has refused to comment
Another Russian village located near the border with Ukraine was shelled on Thursday, Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of the Belgorod Region, has claimed. Earlier on Thursday it was reported that two Ukrainian helicopters were responsible for an attack on the border village of Klimovo in Bryansk Region, and in a separate incident a border crossing some 40km southwest of Klimovo was shelled.

The village of Spodaryushino in Belgorod Region was also targeted, Gladkov wrote on Telegram. "There are no injuries or fatalities among the civilian population," he said, adding that damage to property was also avoided.

The residents of Spodaryushino and the nearby village of Bezymeno have been evacuated to safety, while additional security personnel were deployed at both locations, according to the governor.


It was the second reported attack on Russian territory from Ukraine on Thursday. Earlier in the day, seven people, including a pregnant woman and a child, were injured in an apparent airstrike on the village of Klimovo in Bryansk Region, some 10km north of the border.
Klimovo
© YandexKlimovo pinned on a map
According to Moscow, the civilians were targeted by two Ukrainian helicopters, which had violated the country's airspace.

Kiev insists the Russian offensive was completely unprovoked

Ukrainian forces have now shelled three villages in Russia's Belgorod region, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Thursday. The area is under a state of emergency and the settlements near the border are being evacuated. The attacks caused damage to buildings and wounded an unspecified number of civilians.

"Our village of Zhuravlevka was shelled from the Ukrainian side," Gladkov said on Telegram. "There is damage to homes and community buildings."

Zhuravlevka is near the two countries' shared border. Two other border villages, Spodaryushino and Bezymeno, also came under artillery fire earlier on Thursday. Residents were evacuated and there were no reported injuries.

A short while later, Ukrainian mortars apparently opened fire on a group of 30 or so refugees attempting to cross into Russia at a checkpoint south of Klimovo. Two civilian cars were damaged, but no one was injured, Russian border guards said.

The series of artillery and air attacks comes after the Russian Defense Ministry warned Ukraine against such actions. Bringing up unspecified incidents of sabotage and attacks inside Russia, the ministry's spokesman Major-General Igor Konashenkov said the Russian armed forces will "strike at the decision-making centers, including Kiev - something we have so far refrained from," if the attacks continue.

Calling it a goodwill gesture to promote peace talks, Russia had withdrawn its troops from the Kiev, Chernigov, and Sumy regions of Ukraine at the end of March. At this point, however, Ukrainian forces launched attacks into Russia - targeting a military encampment near Belgorod on March 29 and sending helicopters to strike a nearby civilian fuel storage facility several days later.


Comment: One would suppose that these attacks on civilians in Russian border villages are intended to scupper these peace talks and to incite a response from Russia.


S-400 takes down Ukrainian border attack chopper - Moscow

The helicopter, according to the ministry, was used in the April 14 attack on the village of Klimovo in Russia's Bryansk Region on the other side of the border, leaving eight residents injured, including a two-year-old boy and his pregnant mother. Russia said two Ukrainian helicopters fired at least six missiles at the village after approaching at low altitude.

The S-400 is one of the most advanced long-range air defense systems in the world, and is produced by Russian company Almaz Antey. According to the specifications, it can hit targets at a range of up to 400km, depending on the type of missile. China, Turkey, and India have purchased the weapon system despite the US threatening to impose sanctions against those buying advanced Russian arms.

The Defense Ministry also said it delivered a cruise missile strike on a military target in the Ukrainian capital and opt for more "in response to any terrorist attacks and acts of sabotage conducted by the Kiev nationalistic regime on Russian territory."

Russian warplanes hit seven targets in Ukraine overnight, the update said. One of them was described as a unit of "mercenaries from a Polish private military company" in the Kharkov region. The ministry claimed that up to 30 Polish mercenaries were killed.

Missile factory outside Kiev destroyed - Russia

A Russian warship was used to destroy the Vizar military factory outside Kiev, which was building and repairing anti-aircraft and anti-ship missiles, Defense Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov said on Friday.

Konashenkov warned that Moscow will "increase the number and scale of missile strikes" on the Ukrainian capital in response to attacks on Russian soil. He had issued a similar warning on Wednesday.

Russia claimed that Ukrainian helicopters crossed the border on Thursday, flying close to the ground and attacking the village of Klimovo in the Bryansk Region bordering Ukraine.

On April 1, Moscow claimed that Ukrainian helicopters fired missiles at an oil depot in Belgorod, causing a massive fire at the facility.