UPDATE - Russian governor claims 611 ammunition fired by Ukraine on Belgorod’s Shebekinsky district

ADDS STATEMENT BY RUSSIAN DEFENSE MINISTRY

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - A Russian governor on Monday claimed that a total of 611 various forms of ammunition were fired by the Ukrainian army on the Shebekinsky district in the country’s Belgorod region.

"611 units of various ammunition were fired in the Shebekinsky urban district. … In the city of Shebekino, there are numerous damages to the modules of the central market, commercial facilities, and an industrial enterprise. The number of destroyed and damaged households and cars is being specified," Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram.

Gladkov further claimed that the shelling of the district was carried out with the help of the Grad multiple launch rocket systems, mortars, and cannon artillery, also claiming that a Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance force entered the district, but was stopped while attempting to cross the river near the village of Novaya Tavolzhanka.

Gladkov also reported shellings in the Belgorodsky, Borisovsky, Valuysky, Volokonovsky, and Grayvoronsky districts of Belgorod.

In a later statement, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed it thwarted an attempt by two Ukrainian groups to enter the Belgorod region near the Novaya Tavolzhanka area by crossing the Seversky Donets River.

Meanwhile, Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the Ukrainian Presidential Office, tweeted that the events in Shebekino should be viewed as “the future of Russia.”

“In the example of one small town, we observe the end of the era of ‘Putin's stability’ and the verdict of 20 years of parody of ‘a strong, albeit stealing hand’,” Podolyak further said.

Ukraine’s armed forces have allegedly unleashed a series of attacks on Russia's border regions in recent months, notably Bryansk and Belgorod, which were hit with drones and artillery, according to Moscow.