(MENAFN) A Ukrainian drone attack on a public beach in Kursk, western Russia, killed three people and injured seven others, regional governor Aleksandr Khinshtein reported on Tuesday. Among the injured were two women and a five-year-old boy, who were hospitalized with burns and shrapnel wounds. At least one victim is reportedly in critical condition.

Khinshtein condemned the attack as a “barbaric” assault on civilians, noting it occurred as families gathered to celebrate Russia’s Day of Family, Love, and Fidelity on July 8.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also denounced the strike, criticizing the nations supplying arms to Ukraine. “Those providing weapons to the Kiev regime should recognize these are being used to kill children,” she said.

The Kursk Region, which shares a border with Ukraine, has been frequently targeted by drone and missile strikes since the conflict intensified in 2022. Earlier the same day, a Ukrainian drone hit a house in the village of Karyzh, injuring one person.

Later, Khinshtein reported that two more people were wounded in Rylsk following additional drone attacks. These strikes damaged a medical center, an EMS station, and sparked a fire at an agricultural office building.

In August 2024, Ukraine launched a large-scale offensive into Kursk Region, temporarily seizing dozens of villages and the border town of Sudzha. President Vladimir Zelensky claimed the operation was intended to strengthen Ukraine’s position in negotiations with Moscow. However, Russia fully regained control of the region by April.

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