Ukraine war: Three killed in Belgorod hours after drones hit Moscow

A drone attack on Russia's Belgorod region has killed three people, hours after another drone hit central Moscow, Russian officials say.

Belgorod's Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov blamed Kyiv for the attack on the region, near Ukraine's border.

"Ukrainian forces launched an explosive device through a drone while people were on the street," he claimed.

Kyiv has not claimed responsibility for either incident, but it rarely comments on attacks inside Russia.

Hours after the first drone attack which killed three in Belgorod a second drone was destroyed over the region, the Russian Defence Ministry said.

As well as the drone strikes on Belgorod, drones were also reported in Moscow, where a building that was under construction was hit, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said.

Air defences also shot down two drones earlier in the Mozhaisk and Khimki districts of the Moscow region, the defence ministry added. No casualties were reported.

Following the incident in Russia's capital, all flights to and from Moscow's airports were suspended early on Wednesday, thought they later returned to normal.

The flight suspension measures have been taken repeatedly in recent days amid a spate of drone attacks on the capital.

It was the sixth consecutive night of aerial attacks on the Moscow region, the AFP news agency reported.

The drone that hit the building under construction at the Moscow city complex was suppressed by electronic warfare systems, the defence ministry said. It lost control and collided with the building, officials added.

Several windows were smashed in two five-storey buildings opposite the site and emergency services were inspecting the area, Mr Sobyanin said.

In response to reports of the downed drones, the US State Department said the US did not encourage drone attacks in Russia.

US officials added it was up to Ukraine to decide how to defend itself, and that Russia could end the war at any time by withdrawing its forces from its neighbour.

• What do we know about drone attacks in Russia?

Allegations of drone strikes inside Russia have become increasingly common in recent months.

On Tuesday, Russia's defence ministry said it had downed two drones over the Moscow region, and two more were intercepted over the Bryansk region near the Ukrainian border.

Officials also said a Russian warplane had destroyed a Ukrainian reconnaissance boat in the Black Sea that sailed near Russian gas production facilities on Tuesday.

Ukraine did not claim responsibility for any drone incursions on Tuesday - but President Volodymyr Zelensky has previously said that attacks on Russian territory are an "inevitable, natural and absolutely fair process".