The governor of Russia's Belgorod region has confirmed that Ukraine fired cluster munitions at a village near the Ukrainian border on Friday, but no casualties or damage were reported. The statement was made during a daily briefing on his Telegram channel, without providing visual evidence. Ukraine has received cluster bombs from the United States this month, but it has pledged to use them only to dislodge concentrations of enemy soldiers. Cluster bombs contain dozens of small bomblets that rain shrapnel over a wide area, but are banned in many countries due to the potential danger they pose to civilians. Ukraine has repeatedly said their use will be limited to the battlefield.
The Belgorod region, bordering Ukraine, has been repeatedly targeted by Russia, which claims is indiscriminate shelling by Ukraine's armed forces. In May and June, the region was rocked by violence after fighters from a pro-Ukrainian armed group crossed the border and started battling with Russian security forces. Ukraine does not claim responsibility for attacks inside Russian territory and denied it was involved in the cross-border raids.
On Saturday, an ammunition depot caught fire after a Ukrainian drone attack on the Black Sea peninsula. The region's Moscow-appointed governor claimed that road traffic on the bridge linking Crimea to Russia had been suspended, and no deaths or injuries have been reported so far. Crimea, annexed by Moscow in 2014, has been targeted throughout Russia's Ukraine offensive but has come under increasing attack in recent weeks. Videos showing a large fire and explosions can be heard in some videos.
Russia accuses Ukraine of carrying out the attacks on the bridge, but officials in Kyiv have welcomed them but have refused to take responsibility. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the bridge was a legitimate target because it was a military supply route for Russia. The bridge had only recently returned to full operation after being damaged in a bomb blast last October.
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