Three killed in Ukrainian strike on Belgorod village as rescue crews search rubble

Three killed in Ukrainian strike on Belgorod village as rescue crews search rubble

Event date: 2025-10-08

A Ukrainian strike on the village of Maslova Pristan in Russia's Belgorod region killed three people and injured at least nine others, according to the region's governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov. Emergency workers searched for people feared trapped under rubble after the early morning attack, while local authorities posted images of damage they said showed homes, vehicles, power lines and a sports centre hit across multiple districts.

Gladkov said the strike damaged the roof and walls of a sports centre in Maslova Pristan and that rescue teams were clearing debris and assessing the destruction. He also said separate strikes injured six people, including a child, in the nearby town of Moshchenoye when a rocket and drone hit a truck, and injured a man in Masychevo after a car was struck.

The attack was part of a third consecutive day of Ukrainian strikes on the border region, according to the BBC report. Gladkov said the earlier attacks had left thousands of residents without power and at least two other people dead, after power lines and other infrastructure were hit.

The BBC said Ukraine has not commented on the attacks, but has repeatedly struck targets inside Russia during the war. The report also placed the strikes in the broader context of the wider conflict, noting that Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and that both sides have targeted energy-related infrastructure as winter approaches.

The Belgorod region has become a regular target of Ukrainian attacks, and the latest strike added to the pressure on border communities already coping with repeated damage. Gladkov said Wednesday's drone and missile attacks damaged homes, vehicles and power lines in several districts. The local official's account was the main source for the casualty and damage figures, while the BBC said it had independently verified some of the visual evidence from the region.

The latest deaths also followed a period of intensified cross-border attacks, with the BBC reporting that Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries had increased in recent months and contributed to fuel shortages and higher prices in some parts of Russia. At the same time, Russia continued its own attacks on Ukraine, with Ukraine's air force saying its defences shot down or disabled 154 drones on the same day and that 22 still struck targets in 11 locations.

For residents of Maslova Pristan and surrounding settlements, the immediate priority remained rescue and debris removal. The governor said emergency workers were still searching for survivors, underlining how quickly the attack shifted from blast damage to a recovery operation in a border area already under repeated fire.