Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram that “the town of Shebekino was targeted by Ukrainian forces” and “unfortunately, one person was killed”.

Two other people were hospitalised with shrapnel wounds, he said, while the air strikes also damaged an administrative building.

Russia’s defence ministry said today it had shot down a drone over the Belgorod region overnight.

Two more drones were shot down over the Bryansk region, which also borders Ukraine, and three others were neutralised over annexed Crimea, the ministry said in a Telegram statement.

The Belgorod region has come under heavy fire, and earlier this month residents were evacuated from several border villages.

On Monday authorities in Belgorod said six civilians had been killed in attacks.

Earlier this month, Kyiv’s troops launched a major counter-offensive into the neighbouring Kursk region, two and a half years after the start of the conflict.