The situation in the border regions of Russia remains critical after a series of intense air strikes in recent hours.
The most serious incident was recorded in the city of Shebekino, Belgorod Region, where a drone directly hit a passenger bus carrying civilians.
According to an official statement by the acting governor of the Belgorod Region, Alexander Shuvaev, on his official Telegram channel, the attack involved five people were killed – four women and one minor boy. The total number of injured in this attack reached 23 people, including a 17-year-old boy. According to regional health authorities, three of the injured remain in hospital in critical condition with multiple shrapnel injuries, reports nemoskva.net.
A massive wave of attacks and new missile strikes
The bus incident is part of a wider escalation along the border. At 03:30 Bulgarian time on July 21, the Belgorod Region Operational Headquarters reported a new wave of missile strikes by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation against the city of Belgorod and the surrounding Belgorod District, kommersant.ru reports. Air raid sirens have been activated. According to preliminary data from the emergency services, no citizens were directly injured in this latest midnight attack, but inspections are being carried out for material damage to the local infrastructure.
In parallel, attacks have been registered in other regions in recent hours:
Kursk Region: A 20-year-old man was killed and seven others were injured when a drone hit a commercial building. Sevastopol: Governor Mikhail Razvozhaev announced in the early hours of July 21 that air defense and mobile fire groups repelled an attack, shooting down two drones. Moscow Region: The Russian Ministry of Defense reported that hundreds of drones aimed at the capital have been intercepted over the past 24 hours, with debris injuring 10 people and causing fires in warehouses.Kiev has traditionally not officially commented on the accusations of strikes on civilian targets in the Belgorod region, with the Ukrainian side repeatedly stating that its forces are targeting only military and logistical facilities of the Russian Federation.