UPDATE - Russia says at least 6 killed, 17 injured in Ukrainian shelling on Belgorod

UPDATES WITH STATEMENT BY RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Russia said on Thursday that at least six people were killed and 17 others injured in the region of Belgorod due to Ukrainian shelling.

“As a result of shelling by Ukrainian nationalists of a shopping center in Belgorod, six people were killed, including a child. Another 17, including four children, received injuries of varying degrees,” the Health Ministry said in a statement on Telegram.

The victims were being provided with the necessary medical care, it added.

Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said apartment buildings, a store, and an industrial enterprise were also damaged in the attacks.

Commenting on the incident, the Russian Foreign Ministry said it strongly condemned what it described as a "terrorist attack" and a "heinous crime against civilians and civilian infrastructure."

It said that the attack showed once again the "criminal role" of the “collective West” led by the US, calling on the international community to condemn the incident and voicing its intention to initiate consideration of this issue at the UN Security Council and other international platforms.

Ukrainian authorities have not yet commented on the incident.