Russian troops on March 19 shelled border territories and settlements in the northeastern Sumy region, targeting more than a half dozen communities in at least 30 incidents on a single day.
At least one person was killed in the community of Velyka Pysarivka, the regional military prosecutor's office said. More than 250 people were evacuated last week from Velyka Pysarivka.
Another community was hit by a high-explosive aerial bomb and shelling from mortars.
Russia used MLRS (multiple-launch rocket systems), mortars, artillery, and defense-system strikes in the shelling. While its troops have been shelling communities in the Sumy region nearly every day with various types of weapons, the attacks have recently intensified.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address that there had been "constant terrorist attacks and strikes" in the Sumy region.
"Since the beginning of the month, Russian aviation has already dropped almost 200 guided bombs on the communities of the Sumy region," he said. "Villages, cities, civilian infrastructure."
Zelenskiy said earlier on Telegram that since the beginning of March, Russian troops had fired 130 missiles of various types over Ukraine and called on international partners to strengthen the country's air defenses.
Patriots and other systems should do what they were created for, namely protect life, and not gather dust in storage, Zelenskiy said.
Moscow, meanwhile, said antiaircraft units had downed missiles in two border areas.
The Defense Ministry said on Telegram that air defenses had intercepted 10 projectiles fired by Ukrainian multiple rocket launchers and one Tochka-U missile over the Belgorod region at about 10 p.m. local time.
The ministry said later that it had intercepted two more missiles, including a U.S.-made Patriot, over the neighboring Kursk region. No casualties were reported in either incident.
Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said heavy shelling in the border community of Kozinka had damaged several dwellings.
Russian pro-war Telegram channels and the Russian Volunteer Corps also published reports about fighting in Kozinka.
The Russian Defense Ministry said last week that the Ukrainian military tried to take the village, but the attack was repulsed.
Gladkov said earlier that 16 people had died and 98 were injured in Belgorod over the last week. He announced plans on March 19 to evacuate about 9,000 children from the region because of the shelling.
