Belgorod

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday his troops were "moving further" into Russia, as Kiev's biggest ever cross-border attack stretched into a second week.

The Ukrainian army entered Russia's Kursk region on Aug. 6, capturing dozens of settlements in the biggest offensive by a foreign army on Russian soil since World War II.

Ukrainian media have reported that Ukraine used American weapons to target Belgorod, marking the first time strikes were conducted on Russian territory. The Ukrainian Telegram channel "Spy Dossier," run by a blogger claiming ties to Ukrainian special services, stated that the attack occurred on June 1 or 2, using the HIMARS launcher.

This handout photograph taken and released by State Emergency Service of Ukraine on April 2, 2024, shows firefighters working to extinguishing a fire that authorities said has been damaged during a missile strike, in the eastern city of Dnipro

The Kremlin said on Tuesday the Russian military would do everything in its power to tackle an increase in Ukrainian shelling of the border city of Belgorod.

The city has suffered an uptick in fatal shelling attacks in recent weeks that prompted city officials to evacuate hundreds and extend a closure of schools.

Russian officials in the southern border city of Belgorod offered to evacuate worried residents on Friday, an unprecedented announcement that follows waves of fatal Ukrainian attacks.

The Kremlin has tried to maintain a semblance of normalcy on the home front, but the recent strikes on Belgorod have brought the Ukraine conflict closer to home for Russians.

Russia said Saturday its forces destroyed three Ukrainian naval drones being used in an attempt to attack a key bridge linking Russia to the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula, forcing its temporary closure for a third time in less than a year.