A Russian official says Ukrainian shelling forced the evacuation of 2,500 people from his border area.
About 2,500 people have been evacuated in Russia’s Belgorod region after days of Ukrainian shelling and raids, according to the local governor.
“Conditions are quite difficult,” the governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said in a message on the Telegram messaging app on Friday, adding that the evacuated residents were in temporary shelters in sports centers before being transported to regions further into Russia.
Mr Gladkov said in a separate message that two women were killed after their car was hit by an artillery shell near the town of Shebekino, about ten kilometers from the Ukrainian border. a video posted by Russian military correspondents who claimed to document the aftermath showed a cloud of smoke rising near a motorcade of passenger cars. It could not be independently verified.
The number of people evacuated could not be confirmed, but Belgorod residents who have traveled to Shebekino described the farming community of 40,000 as a ghost town on Thursday. They said many residents had left without waiting for an official evacuation after shelling cellars during hours of shelling.
Unrest in the Belgorod region has intensified since two paramilitary groups crossed the border last week and briefly held two villages in another part of the region.
The groups, Free Russia Legion and Russian Volunteer Corps, claimed in separate videos on Friday that they were fighting on the outskirts of Shebekino for the second day. Russian authorities had said on Thursday that the insurgents at the border had been turned back. On Friday, spokesmen for the Russian Volunteer Corps and Free Russia Legion declined to comment on the Shebekino attack, except that the operation continued.
Both groups, which operate out of Ukraine and are made up of anti-Kremlin Russian citizens, have claimed they do not target civilians and only attack security installations.
Witnesses described extensive damage in the city on Thursday, including to residential buildings. Video footage verified by The New York Times showed an apartment building in the city on fire.
The Russian Volunteer Corps said on Thursday it hit Shebekino police station with a Soviet-designed multiple rocket launcher Grad, an artillery weapon designed to cover a large area with explosives.
Michael Schwirtz reporting contributed.