MOSCOW: Ukrainian bombardments killed two people in a Russian border region on Saturday (Mar 16), its governor said, on the second day of a presidential election guaranteed to cement President Vladimir Putin’s hardline rule.
Polls opened this week but voting has been marred by an uptick in fatal Ukrainian bombardments and a series of incursions into Russian territory by pro-Ukrainian sabotage groups.
Fresh bombardments prompted authorities to close schools and shopping centres in the Belgorod region bordering Ukraine, undermining the Kremlin’s efforts to isolate Russians from its conflict in Ukraine – particularly during highly touted elections.
Putin, who cast his vote online, vowed a harsh response to the assaults and accused Kyiv of trying to “disrupt” his bid for another six-year mandate.
The governor of the frontier Belgorod region said air defence systems had downed eight Ukrainian missiles but that two residents were killed and others injured.
“A man was driving a lorry when a shell hit him, after which the car crashed into a passenger bus. The people on it were not injured,” Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote on social media.
“Another woman was killed in a parking lot where she and her son came to feed the dogs. Medics are fighting for her son’s life,” he added.
Unverified images of the attack circulating on social media showed a large blast destroying a car and sending debris into the air.
In a separate post, Gladkov announced that schools and shopping centres in the city of Belgorod and some surrounding districts would close temporarily over the coming days, the second time this month.
Russia’s defence ministry earlier said it had downed rockets, missiles and drones in the border regions of Belgorod and Kursk that have suffered an uptick in fatal attacks in recent weeks.
Source: CNA
