Russia's Bryansk governor says border village shelled from Ukraine

(Reuters) - A village in Russia's western Bryansk region has been shelled by Ukrainian forces, setting a house on fire, but no one was injured, regional governor Alexander Bogomaz said in a post on the Telegram messaging app on Friday.

Reuters could not immediately verify the reported attack on Lomakovka village located close to the border with Ukraine's Chernihiv region.

Russian officials have reported intensified attacks from northern Ukraine and said that on Thursday Ukrainian troops attempted to cross the border into the Belgorod region, the first such incursion.

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.

Moscow has launched around 20 separate missile and dronestrikes against Ukrainian cities since the start of May.

Russia denies targeting civilians or committing war crimes but its forces have devastated Ukrainian cities and repeatedly hit residential areas.

Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 in what President Vladimir Putin called a "special military operation" to "denazify" the country, protect Russian speakers and defend its borders from aggressive Western ambitions.

Kyiv and its Western allies accuse Putin of barbaric tactics and an imperialist-style land grab in Ukraine. The war has killed tens of thousands and sent millions fleeing abroad.

(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Michael Perry; Editing by Kim Coghill)

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