UPDATE - Russia says 1 killed as Ukraine's sabotage groups attempt to attack border regions

UPDATES WITH DEATH TOLL, CHANGES HEADLINE, DECK, LEDE

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Russia said on Tuesday that one person was killed as Ukrainian sabotage groups attempted to attack the border regions of Belgorod and Kursk.

The Defense Ministry in a statement said after intense shelling of civilian targets, the Ukrainian units tried to penetrate the Russian territory on tanks and armored vehicles simultaneously in three directions in the vicinity of Odnorobovka, Nekhoteyevka and Spodaryushino settlements of the Belgorod region.

In response, Russia scrambled fighter jets, which carried out strikes on the groups, while rocket and artillery forces followed the aviation's lead, according to the ministry.

It said the opponent "suffered significant losses" and retreated, and there have been no violations of the state border.

Five tanks and an armored vehicle were destroyed in the battle, the statement said, adding that five hours after the attack in Belgorod, Ukrainian troops launched four attacks in the Kursk region, all of which were repelled as well.

Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of Belgorod region, said a man from the defense forces was killed in the battle.

"A member of our territorial defense was killed today, the second member of the defense forces who has died in the last two years. We will always remember his name, because he is one of those people we are proud of, who, at the call of his soul, came out to defend his homeland and gave his life for it. We will do everything to keep his memory in our hearts," Gladkov wrote on Telegram.

Russia started its "special military operation" in Ukraine in February 2022.