Ukraine strikes Russian region

Aleksandr Khinshtein says missiles have hit the town of Rylsk in Kursk Region, targeting civilian infrastructure

Ukraine has launched a missile attack on Russia’s Kursk Region, Acting Governor Aleksandr Khinshtein reported on Friday. He said civilian infrastructure in the town of Rylsk was being targeted.

In a short video message posted on his Telegram channel on Friday, Khinshtein stated that the Ukrainian military had “conducted a missile strike on the town of Rylsk.” He accused Kiev’s forces of “deliberately choosing civilian facilities [and] social facilities as their targets.”

He added that senior regional officials, as well as all emergency services, had been deployed to the site of the incident. 

The acting governor said he would join them as soon as he finished participating in a government meeting in Moscow.

Several Russian Telegram channels and media outlets have published what appears to be footage of the aftermath of the attack shot by eyewitnesses. In some of these video clips, several burning cars and damaged buildings can be seen.

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While there have so far been no official reports on the number of casualties, Mash media outlet has claimed that five people lost their lives in the attack, and 26 others sustained injuries. It also alleged that a local school, bus station, and cultural center were hit.

RIA Novosti quoted the head of Rylsk district administration, Andrey Belousov, as confirming that there were an unknown number of casualties. He described the missile strike as “massive,” estimating that approximately 15 projectiles had been fired at the town’s “social” infrastructure.