Russia claims to repel invasion from Ukraine as 9-year-old girl, two others killed in recent attack on Kiev

Moscow – Moscow said on Thursday it had thwarted a Ukrainian attempt to invade its southwestern border Russia hit Kiev Three people were killed by rockets, including a woman and a child. The Ukrainian capital faced near-night air raids in May, including an unusual daytime attack on Monday that forced residents to flee.

As Kiev deployed its air defenses against a fresh volley of Russian missiles, fragments from one of the missiles rained down on a neighborhood in northern Kiev, killing the three civilians, who residents identified to Reuters as two local women and the nine-year-old daughter of one of them.

The Ukrainian Air Force said it intercepted and destroyed all 10 missiles launched by Russia. Another 16 people were injured.

Two women were reportedly killed in an attack in Kiev

The husband of one of the victims, Yaroslav Ryabchuk, said the shelter where they regularly hid from Russian attacks was closed Thursday and he ran to get help.

“When I came back there was a lot of blood, there were children and women. There was screaming and dust,” he told AFP. “Nothing matters anymore,” he said, adding that his children were “left without a mother.”

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko confirmed that three people were killed when “rocket shrapnel” landed near a clinic as they fled for cover after an airstrike alert.

“A closed shelter in wartime is not just indifference, it is a crime,” Interior Minister Igor Klymenko said, adding that an investigation had been launched.

Moscow has always claimed that it only targets military installations and infrastructure in Ukraine, although attacks regularly target civilian homes, hospitals and other buildings.

Russia claims Ukraine ‘attempted invasion’

Moscow, meanwhile, said it had thwarted an attempt by Ukrainian troops to invade the southwestern Belgorod region.

“Around 3 a.m. (0000 GMT), Ukrainian units consisting of up to two motorized infantry companies, reinforced with tanks, attempted to invade,” Russia’s Defense Ministry said.

Moscow used jets and artillery to repel the attacks and prevent Ukrainian troops from crossing into Russia, it said.

The Belgorod region, which witnessed an unprecedented two-day armed raid last week claimed by Russian dissidentshas come under increasing fire in recent weeks.

Regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said eight people were injured in the “continuous shelling” in the city of Shebekino. As the shelling of Shebekino continued, residents flocked to centers for displaced people in the regional capital, also known as Belgorod, he claimed.

Gladkow said the city’s main center was filling up with hundreds of arrivals, so additional people were being “sent to the remaining centers in an organized manner.”

“The main issue now is to provide assistance to people and support the resettlement of those who need it,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding that Putin is constantly briefed on the situation.

Peskov also denounced the international community’s silence on the attacks.

Despite “every opportunity to see the footage describing strikes against housing and social infrastructure… there is not a single word criticizing Kiev,” Peskov said.

Russia has seen unprecedented attacks on its territory this year, including but not limited to: Drone attack in Moscow last week. After at least eight drones were used in the attack, Russia’s Foreign Ministry accused the West of “pushing the Ukrainian leadership into ever more reckless actions.”

Ukraine, which has seen attacks on its capital almost daily, denied any “direct involvement”.