MOSCOW, December 31. /TASS/. Twenty-five patients in serious condition, including six children, have been taken to Moscow hospitals from Belgorod, the press service of the Russian Ministry of Health reported.

"Twenty-five patients in serious condition, including six children, wounded in Belgorod as a result of shelling by the Ukrainian armed forces have been evacuated to federal medical institutions and clinics in Moscow," the ministry said.

On December 30, on behalf of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko flew to Belgorod to coordinate and organize medical care for the victims. "Under the leadership of the Minister of Health of the Russian Federation Mikhail Murashko, a combined team of doctors from federal medical institutions, including the Federal Center for Disaster Medicine of the Ministry of Health of Russia, as well as specialists from medical organizations in Moscow, is working on site," the ministry reported, adding that the provision of medical care for victims is under the personal control of the minister.

The head of the Federal Medical and Biological Agency Veronika Skvortsova said that nine teams of her agency are also providing assistance to the victims.

Belgorod and the surrounding region were shelled by Ukraine’s armed forces. The latest strike was delivered on downtown Belgorod with the use of cluster munitions from Czech-made multiple rocket launchers. According to the recent data, 24 people were killed and more than 100 were injured. Dozens of residential buildings and civilian objects were damaged. On Sunday, the Russian Defense Ministry of announced a retaliatory strike on military targets in Ukraine, including in Kharkov, as a result of which the Ukrainian side suffered significant losses.