Istanbul

ISTANBUL

Five people were killed and 12 others were injured in a pre-dawn shelling on Sunday by Ukrainian forces of Russia's border region of Belgorod, which also damaged infrastructure.

“The Ukrainian Armed Forces launched a brutal terrorist attack on the village of Rakitnoye in the middle of the night. To our great sorrow, the enemy shelling took the lives of five civilians,” Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram.

Gladkov said that 12 people were injured, including a minor who received medical care on the spot.

“Two more children with various shrapnel wounds are being taken by ambulance teams to the regional children's clinical hospital,” Gladkov said, adding that seven adults are being taken to medical facilities in Belgorod city.

He also said 10 private houses in Rakitnoye, which is about 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) from the Ukraine border, were damaged, as well as two commercial properties and four cars.

The gas pipeline in the village has been damaged, while the nearby villages of Borispole and Novoleninskoe are temporarily without gas. A local power line has also been damaged, he added.

Meanwhile, Russia's Investigative Committee announced that it opened a criminal case regarding the attack on Rakitnoye.

Ukrainian authorities have not yet commented on the attack.​​​​​​​