Two villages in the western part of the Bryansk region Russia were bombarded by Ukrainian forces, but there were no casualties, the governor of the Bryansk region, Alexander Bogomaz, said today in a series of posts on the Telegram messenger.

Reuters has not yet been able to confirm reports of attacks in the villages of Lomakovka and Novaya Pogos, which are close to the border with the Chernihiv and Sumy regions of Ukraine.

Russian officials reported an intensification of attacks from northern Ukraine and announced that on Thursday Ukrainian forces attempted to cross the border into Russia’s Belgorod region, the first such attempt to enter Russian territory.

The governor of the Belgorod region Vyacheslav Gladkov said today that at least one shelling was recorded in the Shebekinsky district at night, from which more than 2,500 people were evacuated.

Ukraine denies any involvement of its forces in the incursions and says they are carried out by Russian volunteers.

Ukrainian authorities today lifted the alarm over airstrikes across much of the country, with officials in Kiev saying air defense systems appear to have shot down more than 30 missiles and drones fired by Russia.

Since the beginning of May, Moscow has launched about 20 separate missile and unmanned airstrikes on Ukrainian cities.

^{Source: APE-MEB, Reuters}