(Reuters) -The governor of Russia's Belgorod region said that two people were killed and two others injured on Friday after Ukraine shelled a town near the border, while officials in nearby regions reported overnight drone attacks.
Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote on Telegram that shelling had struck a section of road in the town of Maslova Pristan, some 15 kilometres (9 miles) from Ukraine's northern Kharkiv region, and that shell fragments had struck passing cars.
"Two women were travelling in one of them. They died from their injuries on the spot," he said.
The governor of the Bryansk region, north of Belgorod, said four homes had been damaged by shelling, while the head of neighbouring Kursk region said some buildings had been damaged in an overnight drone attack.
Long-range drones also hit two towns in the Smolensk region overnight, the local governor there said, while the head of Russia's Kaluga region said a blast had been reported in a forest.
Reuters could not immediately verify the reported attacks.
Russian officials have in recent days reported intensified attacks from northern Ukraine. The Defence Ministry said its forces had repelled on Thursday three cross-border attacks by what it said were Ukrainian "terrorist formations" into the Belgorod region.
Ukraine denies its military is involved in the incursions and says they are conducted by Russian volunteer fighters.
Gladkov said on Friday at least one incident of shelling had been reported overnight in the Shebekino district, and over 2,500 people were being evacuated from the area.
Ukrainian authorities on Friday lifted air raid alerts across most of the nation, and officials in the capital Kyiv said defences appeared to have shot down more than 30 missiles and drones fired by Russia.
Moscow has launched around 20 separate missile and dronestrikes against Ukrainian cities since the start of May.
Russia denies targeting civilians or committing war crimes but its forces have devastated Ukrainian cities and repeatedly hit residential areas.
Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 in what President Vladimir Putin called a "special military operation" to "denazify" the country, protect Russian speakers and defend its borders from what he said were aggressive Western ambitions.
Kyiv and its Western allies accuse Putin of barbaric tactics and an imperialist-style land grab in Ukraine. The war has killed tens of thousands and sent millions fleeing abroad.
(Reporting by ReutersEditing by Gareth Jones)
