Russia claims to down Ukrainian drone following explosions in Belgorod Oblast.

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Russia's Defense Ministry claimed on June 9 that its air defense had downed a Ukrainian drone in Belgorod Oblast. Local Telegram channels reported a loud explosion in the Rakityansky District in Belgorod Oblast earlier in the day, with photos and videos of smoke. According to the Astra Telegram channel, locals claimed that a Russian ammunition depot had been hit.

Ukrainian authorities have not commented. The Kyiv Independent couldn't immediately verify the reports. Belgorod Oblast Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov announced a missile attack threat in his oblast at around 12 p.m. on June 9.

Later in the day, he reported that a fire broke out at a non-residential building in Rakityansky District. Gladkov also claimed there were no victims and that residents living nearby had been evacuated to a safer area. Belgorod Oblast borders Ukraine's Sumy, Kharkiv, and Luhansk oblasts.

Claims of missile and drone attacks against the region have recently become a common occurrence after anti-Kremlin Russian militias' incursions into Russian territory. The U.S. gave Ukraine permission to use American weapons to strike targets in Russia across the border from both Kharkiv and Sumy oblasts, Michael Carpenter, senior director for Europe at the U.S. National Security Council, told the TSN news program on May 31.

Military intelligence: Collaborant ex-mayor of Kupiansk in 'critical condition' after assassination attempt in Russia

The life of Hennadii Matsehora, the former mayor of the city of Kupiansk in the country's northeast, was targeted on June 7 in the city of Stary Oskol in Belgorod Oblast, HUR reported in a Telegram post.

It did not disclose further details about the incident.