Shell fired from Ukraine kills one, injures two in Russia

Regional authorities said Sunday that the shell hit the small Russian town of Donetsk damaging two residential houses, leaving one person dead.
 
The fatal incident came a day after a vehicle carrying a squad of Russian border guards came under fire from the Ukrainian side in the Rostov region’s Kuibyshev district. Officials said no Russian guards were injured in the assault.
 
The attack on the border guards prompted the Russian Foreign Minister to demand Ukraine to stop the shelling of the Russian territory and violating the Russian border.
 
The Russian Foreign Ministry added that, “If such provocations continue, Russia reserves the right to take measures under its legislation aimed at protecting the territory and ensuring security of Russian citizens.”
 
The Russian Rostov region has recently seen over a dozen shells hitting the area, which borders Ukraine’s eastern Lugansk region, where Ukrainian troops are fighting pro-Russian forces.
 
Ukraine’s mainly Russian-speaking parts in the east have witnessed deadly clashes between pro-Russia protesters and the Ukrainian army since the government in Kiev launched military operations in mid-April in a bid to crush the pro-Russia protests.
 
Violence intensified in May after the Donetsk and Lugansk regions held local referendums, in which their residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence from Ukraine.
 
Hundreds of people have been killed in the ongoing military campaign in Ukraine, which has also forced tens of thousands to escape to Russia, with the majority arriving to the Russian Rostov region.