Russia claims Ukrainian drone strikes killed 14 in Belgorod

Less than a day after Moscow launched a massive wave of drone and missile attacks on Ukrainian cities, Ukraine has hit back on Russian territory with lethal drone attacks of its own.

The retaliatory strike is one of the deadliest to hit Russian territory since it invaded its neighbour almost two years ago.

Citing Ukrainian security sources, Ukrainian media outlets said the targets it hit were strictly military infrastructure and blamed the civilian casualties on the "incompetent work of Russian air defence." 

Ukraine's attacks began yesterday evening and involved more than 70 drones hitting targets across Russia.

Today's attacks follow Russian drone attacks, on an unprecedented scale, which claimed the lives of 39 people in several Ukrainian cities overnight.

The latest attack marks an escalation in the situation in south-western Russia. 

The Russian defence ministry announced that it had intercepted 13 missiles between Friday and Saturday in the Belgorod region on the border with Ukraine, later claiming another 32 drones to its tally from the Bryansk, Oryol, Kursk and Moscow regions.

According to the governor of Belgorod, one man was killed as a result of the early morning strike. The governor of the Bryansk region said that a child in that region had died following the attack.

One of the reported targets was an electronics factory in Bryansk that manufactured components for Russian long-range missiles and anti-aircraft systems.

But in the last few hours, a series of further strikes on the centre of Belgorod claimed the lives of 14 people, including two children, according to Russia's emergencies ministry.