Russia Raps Ukraine For Its Retaliatory Strike On Belgorod

At least 24 people, including three children, were killed and 108 others wounded in a Ukrainian attack on the Russian border city of Belgorod, as reported by Radina Gigova, Darya Tarasova, Mariya Knight, Maria Kostenko, Tim Lister, and Xiaofei Xu for CNN.

The latest toll was provided by Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov, who blamed “massive shelling” by Ukraine’s armed forces. I Photo: Alexxx1979 Wikimedia Commons

The latest toll was provided by Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov, who blamed “massive shelling” by Ukraine’s armed forces. “This crime will not go unpunished,” the Russian Defense Ministry said.

The toll from the Russian strikes overnight Thursday into Friday on Ukraine — which saw a huge number of drones and missiles fired at targets across the country — continued to mount.

At least 45 people are now confirmed dead. Kyiv authorities said they recovered two more bodies killed by Russia’s missile strikes, bringing the city’s death toll from the attack to 19, as reported by Victoria Butenko, Svitlana Vlasova, and Christian Edwards for CNN.

Ukraine was quick to respond as its representative, Serhii Dvornyk, told the UN Security Council that “the only way to stop human suffering” is “to stop the war itself” — calling on Russia to cease its aggression and withdraw its troops.

“Putin should be honest with his own people about the true and mounting cost of this war,” John Kelley, who represented the United States at the UN Security Council, said and added, “We are here again today because the Kremlin refuses to halt its illegal invasion.”

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