5+ Dead as Missile Strikes Shopping Mall Inside Russia

The Russian border city of Belgorod came under attack Thursday, leaving at least five people dead, according to the regional governor.

Russian authorities blamed Ukraine for the missile strike, with the Defense Ministry claiming to have “thwarted” the attack and shot down 14 missiles. “According to preliminary data, five people were killed in Belgorod, including one child, another 18 people were injured, five of whom were children,” Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said in a statement.

A shopping center was reportedly hit just as crowds of people rushed inside to take cover. Footage published by local media showed residents sifting through the wreckage of the shopping center as a woman can be heard screaming in horror in the background.

A stadium was also hit, according to local outlet Bel.ru, which cited witnesses reporting that both a grandmother and her baby grandson were killed as she took him for a walk in a stroller.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry has dubbed the attack “another act of terror” by Kyiv, though Ukrainian authorities have not yet commented on the strike. The attack comes shortly after five people were killed in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region in the latest Russian bombardment, according to local authorities.

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