FILE PHOTO: Belgorod region governor Vyacheslav Gladkov attends a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, Russia January 24, 2023. Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin via REUTERS/File Photo
(Reuters) -Russia's Kursk and Belgorod regions came under fire from Ukrainian forces across the border in the early hours of Wednesday, the regions' governors said, reporting that at least one person was wounded.
"The attack on the town of Valuyiki lasted for more than an hour," Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote on the Telegram messaging app. A woman suffered shrapnel wounds to her chest.
Gladkov said that Russian defence forces shot down three air objects, including one drone. Ukraine forces also fired 12 times from the Grad rocket launchers, he added. At least eight private houses were damaged in the attacks.
Separately, Roman Starovoyt, the governor of the Kursk region, north of Belgorod and also bordering Ukraine, said that a school and a private house were damaged when the village of Tyotkino came fire, again without specifying the form of attack.
Reuters could not independently verify the reports.
Ukraine almost never publicly claims responsibility for attacks inside Russia or on Russian-controlled territory in Ukraine. Both sides deny targeting civilians in the 16-month war that Russia launched on its neighbour in February 2022.
Blasts and attacks on Russian regions bordering Ukraine have been occurring on nearly daily in recent months, with Russian officials blaming either Ukrainian forces or pro-Ukrainian saboteurs.
(Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
