Ukrainian shelling killed two women and wounded another person in Russia’s Belgorod border region, according to regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov, as the war continued to produce deadly cross-border attacks alongside diplomatic efforts.
The Associated Press reported that the shelling was part of a broader exchange of strikes between Russia and Ukraine on Saturday. The attack in Belgorod came as Russia and Ukraine traded deadly blows that killed at least four people overall, according to officials.
Gladkov said two women were killed and one person was wounded in the border region. AP’s account placed the Russian casualty report alongside a separate Russian drone strike in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, where a man and a woman were killed and six people, including two children, were injured. Together, the incidents showed the scale of violence that continues even while both sides signal interest in new talks.
Those talks were being organized in the United States. AP reported that US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff described the Miami meetings as constructive and part of ongoing mediation efforts. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had sent a delegation to the US to help restart suspended peace talks, while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said a new round of US-mediated negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv could happen soon.
The Belgorod shelling is significant because it demonstrates how the conflict remains reciprocal and how civilian areas on both sides of the border continue to absorb the impact. Border regions such as Belgorod are especially exposed to artillery, drone and shelling attacks because they sit directly adjacent to the front line and are often used by each side to strike back across the border.
AP said the latest attacks took place while international attention remained divided by the conflict in the Middle East and while Russia continued to hold nearly 20% of Ukraine. Western officials have accused President Vladimir Putin of delaying negotiations while Moscow tries to preserve military momentum. The report also noted Ukraine’s financial strain and the continuing promise of a major European loan package.
Even without a formal breakthrough at the negotiating table, the battlefield remains active. The Belgorod deaths underline that civilians on both sides are still paying the price of a war that has not eased despite diplomatic movement. As the AP report makes clear, the discussion in Miami did not stop the next day’s shelling and drone attacks. The border region’s latest losses are another reminder that negotiations and violence are now unfolding at the same time, with little sign yet that one is reducing the other.
