Shebekino

Since Tuesday morning, there has been intense activity around Belgorod, near Russia’s southern border with Ukraine. Russian Telegram channels, citing their security service connections, report that Ukrainian forces are attempting an incursion, having already attacked a border station in the area.

Ukraine has sunk a Russian submarine and hit a Russian airfield, in line with a surge of long-range attacks against Russian targets, officials said.

The uptick in attacks since July come as Ukraine mounts pressure on allies to allow it to use long-range missiles to strike targets in Russia. Western allies, in particular the U.S., have so far resisted, fearing escalation from Moscow.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused China on Sunday of working hard to stop countries from going to a peace summit, which Beijing has publicly criticised because Russia is not invited.

Rubble and broken glass littered the empty streets, and traces of shelling were visible in the city's central square. Not far from there, a police station was reduced to black rubble after being hit by a Ukrainian missile.