Russia’s Kursk, Belgorod Regions Come Under Fire from Ukraine 

A view shows the aftermath of Ukrainian strikes in the village of Novaya Tavolzhanka, near the border with Ukraine in the Belgorod region, on July 4, 2023. (AFP)
A view shows the aftermath of Ukrainian strikes in the village of Novaya Tavolzhanka, near the border with Ukraine in the Belgorod region, on July 4, 2023. (AFP)
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Russia’s Kursk, Belgorod Regions Come Under Fire from Ukraine 

A view shows the aftermath of Ukrainian strikes in the village of Novaya Tavolzhanka, near the border with Ukraine in the Belgorod region, on July 4, 2023. (AFP)
A view shows the aftermath of Ukrainian strikes in the village of Novaya Tavolzhanka, near the border with Ukraine in the Belgorod region, on July 4, 2023. (AFP)

Russia's Kursk and Belgorod regions came under fire from Ukrainian forces across the border in the early hours of Wednesday, the regions' governors said, reporting that at least one person was wounded.

"The attack on the town of Valuyiki lasted for more than an hour," Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote on the Telegram messaging app. A woman suffered shrapnel wounds to her chest.

Gladkov said that Russian defense forces shot down three air objects, including one drone. Ukraine forces also fired 12 times from the Grad rocket launchers, he added. At least eight private houses were damaged in the attacks.

Separately, Roman Starovoyt, the governor of the Kursk region, north of Belgorod and also bordering Ukraine, said that a school and a private house were damaged when the village of Tyotkino came fire, again without specifying the form of attack.

Reuters could not independently verify the reports.

Ukraine almost never publicly claims responsibility for attacks inside Russia or on Russian-controlled territory in Ukraine. Both sides deny targeting civilians in the 16-month war that Russia launched on its neighbor in February 2022.

Blasts and attacks on Russian regions bordering Ukraine have been occurring on nearly daily in recent months, with Russian officials blaming either Ukrainian forces or pro-Ukrainian saboteurs.



UN Security Council Authorizes New Somalia Peacekeeping Mission

File photo: Somalia police patrol near the scene of a suicide bomber attack at a café, in Mogadishu, Somalia, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)
File photo: Somalia police patrol near the scene of a suicide bomber attack at a café, in Mogadishu, Somalia, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)
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UN Security Council Authorizes New Somalia Peacekeeping Mission

File photo: Somalia police patrol near the scene of a suicide bomber attack at a café, in Mogadishu, Somalia, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)
File photo: Somalia police patrol near the scene of a suicide bomber attack at a café, in Mogadishu, Somalia, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

The United Nations Security Council authorized an African Union stabilisation and support mission in Somalia - known as AUSSOM - on Friday that will replace a larger AU anti-terrorism operation from Jan. 1, 2025.
Somalia's security has been underwritten by foreign resources since Ethiopia invaded in 2006, toppling the administration but galvanising an insurgency that has since killed tens of thousands of people.
The European Union and United States, the top funders of AU forces in Somalia, wanted to reduce the number of AU peacekeepers due to concerns about long-term financing and sustainability, sources told Reuters in June. Negotiations about the new force had proven complicated, they said.
The United States abstained from the UN Security Council vote on Friday over its funding concerns. The remaining 14 council members voted for the resolution.