Two people were killed in Ukrainian shelling of Russia's western Belgorod region, the governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said Tuesday.An elderly man was killed instantly when an artillery shell hit a home in the village of Popovka, which is located some 50 kilometers from the border with Ukraine.

His wife sustained severe shrapnel wounds and died hours later in an ambulance, according to Gladkov. “Doctors fought for her life until the very end...

I express my sincere condolences to the family and friends of the victims,” Gladkov said on the messaging app Telegram. Four homes in Popkova were damaged as a result of the cross-border attack on Tuesday, while electricity lines and gas pipelines supplying residential areas were damaged.At least 99 civilians, including 61 residents in the Belgorod region, have been killed in Russia since Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine last year, according to a tally by the independent 7x7 news outlet. Last week, shelling of the village of Urazovo in the Belgorod region killed one person.