MOSCOW, January 9. /TASS/. The Russian military will do everything possible to reduce and then eliminate the threat of Ukrainian shelling attacks on Russian cities, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

He pointed out that the Ukrainian armed forces had fired cluster munitions at downtown Belgorod.

"Our troops will continue to do everything to first reduce this threat and then fully eliminate it," Peskov emphasized. "The Kiev regime has shamelessly stooped to using cluster munitions in mounting attacks on a central city area, <...> where there are no military facilities," he added.

The Ukrainian armed forces fired two cluster munition rockets and Czech-made rockets on December 30 at downtown areas of Belgorod, a city of 340,000 people located about 40 kilometers from the Russian-Ukrainian border. According to the latest data, the attack killed 25 people, including five children, and left over 100 wounded. Dozens of residential buildings and civilian facilities were damaged. On December 31, the Russian Defense Ministry announced a retaliatory strike on military targets in Ukraine, particularly in the city of Kharkov, which caused Ukraine to suffer significant losses.