Two killed in shelling of Russian border city Belgorod, governor says

The strike comes as voting is underway in the Russian city through Sunday in a three-day presidential election

Two people were killed and three wounded in a Ukrainian missile strike on the Russian border city of Belgorod, the regional governor said on Saturday, as Russian citizens vote through Sunday in a three-day presidential election.

In a statement on the messenger app Telegram, Belgorod governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said that the city had been struck by missiles fired from a Vampire rocket launcher system. He said that vehicles and buildings had been damaged both in Belgorod and in surrounding villages.

Video obtained by Reuters showed fires blazing and air raid sirens ringing out in Belgorod's deserted streets.

Belgorod, a frontier province that borders Ukraine's Kharkiv region, has come under frequent attack from Kyiv's forces since 2022. In December, 25 people were killed in a single missile strike on the city.

Earlier on Saturday, Gladkov said that five people, including one child, had been injured in a drone strike on a car that was travelling close to the Ukrainian border.

President Vladimir Putin on Friday accused Ukraine of trying to sabotage the presidential poll, which runs until Sunday and is set to hand him six more years in power.