Recent weeks have seen a sharp uptick in Ukrainian attacks on the frontier territory as well as incursions by pro-Kyiv militias comprised of Russians who oppose the Kremlin.

The governor of the Belgorod region Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote on social media that five people had been wounded in separate bombardments of two villages.

He said air defence systems had intercepted incoming projectiles and that the wounded were being treated.

Gladkov said two firefighters were among those injured in one of the villages and several homes were damaged.

Russia’s defence ministry said air defence systems had downed 13 Vampire rockets fired by Ukrainian forces.

Russia has also recently stepped up large-scale bombardments in Ukraine, inflicting damage on critical infrastructure like power stations and cutting electricity supplies to tens of thousands of Ukrainians.