The governor of Russia's Belgorod region said on Monday that at least three people have been injured with shrapnel wounds amid an attack by a Ukrainian "sabotage" group that entered Russian territory in the town of Graivoron bordering Ukraine.
"They are in the hospital in a state of moderate severity. All necessary medical assistance is provided," regional Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram.
Gladkov said that shells hit an administrative building in Belgorod and damaged three residential buildings, which caught fire. A shell also hit a kindergarten in the neighboring village of Zamostye, where another woman was injured with a hand wound, he added.
An unmanned aerial vehicle was shot down by Russia's air defense system, according to Gladkov, who said there were no victims in the attack and Russian operational services were looking into any potential damage on the ground.
Earlier on Monday, Belgorod's governor said that Russian armed forces, along with the border service, the National Guard and the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) were "taking measures to eliminate the enemy."
Some context: A Ukrainian official acknowledged that the units that had carried out an operation in the area were part of the defense and security forces of Ukraine, but insisted they were acting independently. “We can confirm that this operation was carried out by Russian citizens,” Andriy Yusov, a representative of Ukraine’s defense intelligence agency, told CNN.
CNN's Victoria Butenko contributed to this post.