A village in Russia’s Bryansk region near the border with Ukraine was shelled early Tuesday, the third straight day of security incidents in the area as both sides ramp up fighting ahead of an expected Ukrainian counteroffensive.
The early morning shelling caused a fire but no casualties, the regional governor, Aleksandr V. Bogomaz, said on the Telegram messaging app. He said Ukraine’s military was behind the strike on the village, which is less than five miles from the border, without offering details. The claim could not be independently verified.
The shelling was the latest in a series of attacks on a border region that Russia has used as a staging ground for air assaults, rocket launches and other attacks on Ukraine. The Ukrainian military has said the region is also increasingly being used to launch drone attacks. Ukraine usually does not claim credit for attacks in Russian territory, but its leaders have said it reserves the right to strike targets used to attack Ukrainian towns and cities.
On Sunday, Mr. Bogomaz said four people in the region were killed by Ukrainian shelling from across the border. Several rockets struck the village of Suzemka, which is a few miles from the border with Ukraine’s Sumy region, the governor said at the time.
On Monday, an explosion caused a freight train to derail in the region. Mr. Bogomaz said the blast was caused by an unidentified explosive device. The country’s rail service placed the blame on “an intrusion by unauthorized individuals” that led to the locomotive catching fire.
By Tuesday morning, rail service on the line had been restored, the Russian railway company said on Telegram. About 100 meters of railroad tracks, or about 330 feet, had to be laid anew, according to the company.
Ukraine has previously targeted Bryansk, including sending special forces across the border in March to destroy an unmanned observation tower. Also in March, partisans claiming to fight for Ukraine made an armed incursion into a village in the region, briefly taking control, and leading to emergency measures from the Kremlin.
