Russia has accused Ukraine of using internationally banned cluster munitions in a "terrorist attack" that targeted civilians in the western Russian city of Belgorod.
Russia's Permanent Ambassador to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya made the remarks on Saturday while addressing an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council that had been requested by Moscow.
According to Russian authorities, Kiev's missile attack on Belgorod killed at least 21 people and left at least 110 wounded, including 17 children. They added that the death toll included at least three children.
"In order to increase the number of casualties of the terrorist attack they used cluster munitions," Nebenzya said, adding that it was a "deliberate, indiscriminate attack" against civilian targets, which included a sports center, an ice rink, and a university.
It was "a terrorist attack by the Kyiv regime against a civilian city," the Russian envoy emphasized, adding, "The UN Security Council's members have an opportunity to do their duty and assess the damage done to a Russian city."
Earlier in the day, Russian officials said the Ukrainian attack on the Belgorod Oblast in western part of the country had left many civilians, including children, dead and wounded.
