Russian shelling in Ukraine kills 7, including infant 

Seven people were killed, including a 23-day old infant, in a Russian shelling Sunday targeting Ukraine’s southern Kherson region.

Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said in a Telegram post that the artillery shelling on the village of Shyroka Balka killed a family, including a husband, wife, 12-year-old boy and 23-day-old girl and another resident. The 12-year-old son was initially recovered in critical condition but later died at the hospital, Kylmenko said.

Two others were also killed in Stanislav, a nearby village where a woman was also wounded.

This comes after Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar pushed back on claims that her country’s forces had advanced on the occupied left bank of the Dnieper River in the Kherson region. She said Saturday there were “no reasons for excitement.”

Ukraine has continued to slowly make small gains after it launched its counteroffensive in the south earlier this summer. However, Russia has been quietly launching its own offensive, which could potentially divide Ukraine’s forces if successful.

Local officials in Russia also reported Sunday that air defense systems shot down three drones over the Belgorod region and one over the Kursk region. Both regions border Ukraine.

Belgorod Regional Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said the facade of an apartment building had been damaged after an explosion in the area was also reported Sunday afternoon. He said that there were no casualties, but that 15 parked cars sustained damage.  

The Associated Press contributed.