MOSCOW, December 30. /TASS/. Ukraine used prohibited cluster munitions to shell Russia’s city of Belgorod, the Russian defense ministry said.
"Today, the Kiev regime made an attempt to deliver an indiscriminate combined strike on the city of Belgorod with the use of two Olkha missiles equipped with prohibited cluster warheads and Czech-made Vampire projectiles," it said.
According to the ministry, the missiles and most of the projectiles fired by Ukraine at Russia’s city of Belgorod were intercepted by Russian air defense systems. "Should the Olkha missiles with cluster munitions hit the city, the consequences would have been much more dramatic," it added.
"The Kiev regime, which committed this crime, is seeking to divert attention from its failures on the frontline and to provoke us to do similar things. We stress that the Russian armed forces are targeting only military facilities and related infrastructure," the ministry said.
Downtown Belgorod came under a massive shelling attack by Ukrainian troops on Saturday. According to the latest data, 14 people were killed and 108 were injured.