MOSCOW, March 18. /TASS/. Russian air defense forces shot down 10 rockets of the Ukrainian army’s Czech-made Vampire multiple launch rocket system over the Belgorod Region, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Monday.
"At about 8:30 a.m. Moscow time [5:30 a.m. GMT] on March 18, an attempt by the Kiev regime to carry out a terrorist attack with an RM-70 Vampire multiple launch rocket system against facilities on Russian territory was thwarted. Alert air defense forces shot down 10 rockets over the Belgorod Region," the ministry said in a statement.
A total of 11 civilians of Russia's Belgorod Region have died and 82 have been injured as a result of Ukrainian shelling over the week, regional Health Minister Andrey Ikonnikov reported.
"During the week of March 12-18, 93 people were injured, 11 of them died," he said at an operational meeting.
According to the regional minister, 40 people remain in the hospital, and another patient was admitted in the morning.
Ikonnikov pointed out that nine people were in critical but stable condition. He also said that some patients might be transferred to federal hospitals.