Russia Reports Five Killed in Ukrainian Strike on Kursk Region

Russia has confirmed that five people were killed in a Ukrainian strike on the western Kursk region.

In Russia, the acting governor of the Kursk region said in addition to those killed, nine had been taken to hospital following the attack on the town of Rylsk, The Caspian Post reports, citing BBC.

Alexander Khinshtein said a cultural centre, a fitness complex, a school and homes had been damaged in the strike which took place at 15:30 local time (12:30 GMT) on Friday.

Russian officials earlier reported six killed, including a child, in Rylsk, about 25km (16 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

But in an audio message on Telegram on Saturday morning, Khinstein gave the latest update, saying there were five fatalities.

"There were no children among those [killed]," he said.

Ukrainian troops still hold parts of the Kursk region after launching a surprise cross-border offensive in early August.

Ukraine's foreign ministry said Russia's strike on Kyiv had affected the diplomatic missions of Albania, Argentina, North Macedonia, Palestine, Portugal and Montenegro. It is unclear whether the building housing them was directly targeted in the Ukrainian capital.

At least one person was killed and nine others were injured in the strike which damaged a number of buildings in the city, Ukraine's military said. It is not thought that any of the embassy diplomats were injured.