Russia says attacks on Kharkiv were revenge for attack on Ukraine's Belgorod

Kharkiv officials had said at least six rockets hit Ukraine's second city, wounding at least 28 people and damaging residential buildings, hotels and medical facilities, followed by waves of attacks on residential blocks.

Russia's statement said its attack hit former Kharkiv Palace Hotel and Ukraine Security Service headquarters for the Kharkiv region.

He said military and intelligence officers involved in Ukraine's attack on Belgorod were among those killed, along with “mercenares and foreign militants” prepared to conduct cross-border raids.

Ukraine's military intelligence spokesman, Andriy Yusov, told local media that no military object was targeted in Russia's Kharkiv attack and that no one from his agency was injured.

Vyacheslav Gladkov, governor of the Belgorod region next to northern Ukraine, said the death toll from Ukrainian missile attacks Saturday in the regional capital had risen to 24.

In a post on Telegram, he said there are also 108 injured and that 37 residential buildings have been damaged.

There was no official comment from Kiev in the hours following the attack in Belgorod, and Reuters was unable to independently verify Russian reporting, Reuters writes, broadcast Klankosova.tv.