14
WASHINGTON, (Sputnik) – A US Defense Department official declined to comment on Ukraine’s recent strikes targeting Belgorod and deferred to Ukrainian officials to speak on this matter.
«We will leave it to Ukrainian officials to comment on recent strikes they’ve conducted,» the official told Sputnik on Monday.
The White House National Security Council did not respond to Sputnik’s requests for comment on this matter.
The death toll from the collapse of a multi-story residential building in Russia’s Belgorod due to Ukrainian shelling has risen to 19 as of Monday.
Earlier on Monday, the Russian Defense Ministry said that Russian air defense systems destroyed 12 Vilkha rockets and 12 drones over the Belgorod region, eight drones over the Kursk region, four air-launched Storm Shadow cruise missiles and seven drones over Crimea, while four more drones were intercepted over Lipetsk region.
