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Russia claims it shot down ballistic missile over Belgorod Oblast

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Russia claims it shot down ballistic missile over Belgorod Oblast
Soviet made tactical ballistic missile complexes Tochka (Point) during a military parade in Kyiv on Aug. 24, 2016 to celebrate Ukrainian Independence Day. (Archive photo) (Genya Savilov/AFP via Getty Images)

Russia's Defense Ministry said that air defense working in Russia's western Belgorod Oblast shot down a Tochka-U ballistic missile in the early morning of Dec. 12.

It said that the missile was destroyed, but did not comment on if it or subsequent debris caused any damage.

Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of Belgorod Oblast, said that air defense had shot down a "target" near the village of Bessonovka, about 30 kilometers from the city of Belgorod and close to 50 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.

Kyiv did not comment on the claim, and it cannot be independently verified.

Drones and missiles have targeted Russian territory intermittently since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. Ukraine usually does not comment on the strikes, which have reached as far as Moscow.

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Nate Ostiller

News Editor

Nate Ostiller is a former News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. He works on special projects as a researcher and writer for The Red Line Podcast, covering Eastern Europe and Eurasia, and focused primarily on digital misinformation, memory politics, and ethnic conflict. Nate has a Master’s degree in Russian and Eurasian Studies from the University of Glasgow, and spent two years studying abroad at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy in Ukraine. Originally from the USA, he is currently based in Tbilisi, Georgia.

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