Russia condemns “significant increase” in Ukrainian fire on its territory

The Russian Security Services (FSB) on Sunday condemned a “significant increase” in Ukrainian fire targeting Russian territories bordering Ukraine, after one person was killed and five others were injured in the fire last week.

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“Since the beginning of October, the number of attacks by Ukrainian armed forces against Russian border areas has increased significantly,” the FSB, which is responsible for border control, said in a statement.

This is especially true in the Belgorod region, bordering Kharkiv in Ukraine, where Kiev’s forces have reclaimed thousands of square kilometers of territory since early September, including along the border. According to the FSB, the Russian regions of Bryansk and Kursk were also targeted.

“Over the past week, more than 100 bombings have been recorded in 32 locations, using multiple rocket missile systems, artillery, mortars and drones,” he continued.

According to the FSB, these Ukrainian bombings killed one “local resident and injured five people, including a child,” destroyed two power stations, eleven residential buildings, and two administrative buildings.

According to the same source, eight border checkpoints were also damaged.

Roman Starovoit, the governor of the Kursk region, accused Ukrainian forces of shelling the Kornalsky St. Nicholas monastery on the border between the two countries on Sunday.

“There was no casualty. A shell hit the building and the fire was quickly extinguished,” he said in a telegram, posting photos of the damaged roof and wall.

Russian territories have already been targeted several times in the past seven months.

On September 12, a strike at a Russian border crossing left one dead and four injured and damaged residential houses and power lines.

In July, the Russian military accused Kyiv of firing three missiles at the city of Belgorod, capital of the region of the same name. In April, it was an oil depot that, according to Russia, was attacked by Ukrainian helicopters forty kilometers from the border.