At least three civilians were killed and dozens of homes damaged in the Russian city of Belgorod near the Ukraine border, the regional governor said on Sunday, Reuters reported.
Kyiv acknowledged it could lose its last big bastion in eastern Ukraine to Kremlin forces amid the heavy shelling from the Russian side.
The blasts partially destroyed 11 apartment buildings and at least 39 private residential buildings, said Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov.
“Reasons for the incident are being investigated…Presumably, the air defence system worked,” Gladkov said in a message on Telegram.
The Governor further informed that the incident is being investigated.
"At least four people were injured and two hospitalised, including a 10-year-old boy," informed Gladkov.
Belgorod, a city of nearly 400,000 some 40 km (25 miles) north of the border with Ukraine, is the administrative centre of the Belgorod region.
Meanwhile, as fighting between Russia and Ukraine intensified in the eastern region, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that fight at Lysychansk, Ukraine’s last big bastion in the strategic eastern province of Luhansk, could lead to the city falling.
(with agency inputs)