The missile is believed to have struck a temporary Russian military encampment
The news comes as Russia claimed it will “reduce” its assault on Kyiv
The White House issued a word of caution amid Russia’s claims
Forces in Ukraine allegedly hit back at a military camp inside Russia on Tuesday in one of the first significant shelling, Moscow’s state-run news agency Tass reported.
The missile appeared to have struck a temporary Russian military encampment outside Belgorod, in Russia’s village of Krasny Oktyabr, about 40 miles from the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.
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Regional Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said there were no casualties. However, Tass cited an emergency service worker saying that four Russian soldiers were injured.
Two local Belgorod news outlets posted a video online purportedly showing ammunition blowing up. However, the source of the explosion could not be immediately confirmed.
If the attack is verified, this would apparently be the first that struck a military target inside Russia. The Tass report cannot be independently verified.
The news comes as Russia claimed it will “reduce” its assault on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. In response, US President Joe Biden said that Washington is going to “continue to keep strong the sanctions. We’re gonna continue to provide the Ukrainian military with their capacity to defend themselves and we’re gonna continue to keep a close eye on what’s going on.”
The US Defense Department also cautioned that while “small numbers” of Russian forces have moved away from Kyiv “in the last day or so,” Russia can still inflict “massive brutality” on the country, including on the capital city.
“We saw from the outset, that they made an aggressive push toward Kyiv at the beginning of this conflict, and we have no reason to believe that they have adjusted … that strategy,” White House communications director Kate Bedingfield told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on Tuesday. “Obviously, we continue to do everything we can to impose costs for this decision. We will continue to execute on our strategy, but as you heard the President say, we are not going to take their word for it. We’re going to wait to see what their actions look like.”
