Ukraine denies attacking Russian village near border

(Reuters) – Ukraine denied accusations made by a Russian provincial governor on Tuesday that its forces had struck a Russian village near the border between the two countries.

Vyacheslav Gladkov, governor of the Russian province of Belgorod, said three people had been wounded in the alleged attack, though not gravely, and more than 30 houses were damaged.

Ukraine’s military said: “These are baseless accusations by Russia. Ukraine is conducting a defence operation on its territory and is fighting exclusively against the Russian occupiers, not against civilians.”

It was not possible to independently verify the incident or determine who was responsible.

Earlier this month, Russia accused Ukraine of a helicopter attack on a fuel depot in Belgorod, for which Kyiv denied responsibility, as well as shelling villages and firing missiles at an ammunition depot.

Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24 in what it called a “special operation” to demilitarise and “denazify” its southern neighbour. Ukraine and Western nations have dismissed this as a baseless pretext for war.

(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Nick Macfie)