Ukraine targets Russian border areas, Russia strikes Dnipro clinic

Damaged armored military vehicles in Russia’s western Belgorod region. Pic/AP

Russia's southern Belgorod region bordering Ukraine came under attack from Ukrainian artillery fire on Friday, authorities said, hours after at least one nighttime blast rocked a Russian city in a region next to the annexed Crimea peninsula.

The Kremlin's forces, meanwhile, struck a clinic in Dnipro, in central Ukraine, killing one person and wounding 16 including two children, Ukrainian officials said. Also, a Russian S-300 missile hit a dam in the Karlivka district of Ukraine's eastern Donetsk province, placing nearby settlements under threat of severe flooding.

The Belgorod town of Graivoron, some 7 km from the Ukrainian border, was under fire for several hours, with four houses, a store, a car, a gas pipeline and a power line damaged, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov reported. Closer to the border, a recreation center, a shop and an uninhabited house sustained damage in Glotovo. No casualties were reported.

Japan adopts new sanctions on Russia

Japan on Friday approved additional sanctions against Russia over its war on Ukraine, including freezing the assets of dozens of individuals and groups and banning exports to Russian military-related organisations.

Japanese Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno. Pic/AP

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters the Cabinet approval shows Japan is in step with the rest of the G7 countries that agreed during their summit in Hiroshima last week to maintain and strengthen sanctions against Russia.

He said Japan is committed to working with other G7 countries and the broader international community "to improve the situation" for Ukraine. Matsuno also sharply criticised the signing of a deal between Russia and Belarus on Thursday, which formalised the deployment of Moscow's tactical nuclear weapons in its ally's territory as a move that "further escalates tensions."

Wagner Group head in Mali sanctioned

The US on Thursday sanctioned the leader of Russia's paramilitary Wagner Group in Mali, citing what it said were indications that the Kremlin was trying to use the West African nation as a way-station for arms shipments to Russian forces in Ukraine. The sanctions against Ivan Maslov refer to unspecified signs that his staffers were working to buy mines, drones and other weapons systems.

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