Russia says two killed after Ukraine shelled border regions

(Adds report of two more wounded in shelling in Shebekino) June 2 (Reuters) - The governor of Russia's Belgorod region said that two people were killed and four others injured on Friday after Ukraine shelled a town near the border, while officials in nearby regions reported overnight drone attacks.

(Adds report of two more wounded in shelling in Shebekino) June 2 (Reuters) -

The governor of Russia's Belgorod region said that two people were killed and four others injured on Friday after Ukraine shelled a town near the border, while officials in nearby regions reported overnight drone attacks. Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote on Telegram that shelling had struck a section of road in the town of Maslova Pristan, some 15 kilometres (9 miles) from Ukraine's northern Kharkiv region, and that shell fragments had struck passing cars.

"Two women were travelling in one of them. They died from their injuries on the spot," he said. In another message posted later on Friday, Gladkov said two more people had been injured and an industrial facility had caught fire after shelling in the town of Shebekino.

Shebekino also suffered heavy bombardment on Thursday as well as a cross-border incursion, Russian officials said. Gladkov said more than 2,500 people were being evacuated from the Shebekino area.

The governor of the Bryansk region, north of Belgorod, said four homes had been damaged by shelling, while the head of neighbouring Kursk region said some buildings had been damaged in an overnight drone attack. Long-range drones also hit two towns in the Smolensk region overnight, the local governor there said, while the head of Russia's Kaluga region said a blast had been reported in a forest.

Reuters could not independently verify the reported attacks. INCREASED ATTACKS

Russian officials have in recent days reported intensified attacks from northern Ukraine. The Defence Ministry said its forces had repelled on Thursday three cross-border attacks by what it said were Ukrainian "terrorist formations" into the Belgorod region. Ukraine denies its military is involved in the incursions and says they are conducted by Russian volunteer fighters.

Ukrainian authorities on Friday lifted air raid alerts across most of the nation, and officials in the capital Kyiv said defences appeared to have shot down more than 30 missiles and drones fired by Russia. Russia has launched around 20 separate missile and drone strikes against Ukrainian cities since the start of May.

Moscow denies targeting civilians or committing war crimes but its forces have devastated Ukrainian cities and repeatedly hit residential areas during its 15-month "special military operation", which it says aims to safeguard Russian security. Kyiv and its Western allies accuse Russia of barbaric tactics and an imperialist-style land grab in Ukraine. The war has killed tens of thousands and sent millions fleeing abroad.

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