A Russian official said the country’s air defenses shot down 18 Ukrainian airborne targets involved in an attack early Wednesday in the Belgorod region.
Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor in Belgorod, said on Telegram there was some damage to homes in several villages, and that at least one person was hurt.
Belgorod, located along the border between Russia and Ukraine, is a frequent target of Ukrainian attacks as Ukraine seeks to defeat the invasion Russia launched more than two years ago.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced late Tuesday changes to his national security team.
Zelenskyy said in his nightly address that Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine’s national security council, had been replaced by Oleksandr Lytvynenko, who formerly led Ukraine’s foreign spy agency.
Zelenskyy called the change part of a “reboot of our state’s governance system.”
“In general, I expect strengthening of the strategic capabilities of our state to predict and influence the processes on which the national security of our country depends,” Zelenskyy said.
Ukraine said Tuesday it destroyed 12 Russian drones that targeted several Ukrainian regions, while Russia said it thwarted Ukrainian air attacks against the Belgorod region along the border between the two countries.
Ukraine’s air force said the country’s air defenses downed the drones over the Mykolaiv and Kharkiv regions.
Oleh Syniehubov, the regional governor in Kharkiv, reported on Telegram there was damage to a building, but no casualties.
Vitaliy Kim, the governor in Mykolaiv, said on Telegram three of the drones were destroyed above his region. He did not report any damage or casualties.
Some information for this report came from Reuters.