Officials in Ukraine said the country came under heavy fire from neighboring Belarus, a Russian ally that has not been involved in the fighting.
Twenty rockets targeted the village of Desna in the northern Chernigiv region in “a massive bombardment,” according to Ukraine’s northern military command. There were no casualties reported Saturday.
Belarus has provided logistical support to Moscow since the beginning of the Feb. 24 invasion, according to a report.
Ukraine said it came under “massive bombardment” Saturday from Belarus, the day after announcing a retreat from the strategic city of Severodonetsk.
“Today’s strike is directly linked to Kremlin efforts to pull Belarus as a co-belligerent into the war in Ukraine,” the Ukrainian intelligence service said.
The bombing came as Russian president Vladimir Putin was scheduled to meet Aleksandr Lukashenko, president of Belarus, in St. Petersburg Saturday.