Russia says death toll in Ukraine's missile attack on city of Bryansk rises to 7

MOSCOW

The death toll from a Ukrainian missile strike on the Russian city of Bryansk has risen to seven, according to local Governor Alexander Bogomaz.

Speaking in an interview with Russian media, Bogomaz said the Tuesday strike occurred at approximately 6 pm (1500GMT), a time when many residents were returning home from work.

"As of today, we have seven dead and 42 wounded," Bogomaz said. "They struck at the civilian population, it was almost six in the evening when people were returning home from work, and there were many residents of the city of Bryansk on the streets. They struck at that time."

In a separate statement, the Foreign Ministry said it noted the use of British-made weapons systems in the attack.

The ministry emphasized that the attack is taking place against the backdrop of intensified political and diplomatic efforts in the Russia-US-Ukraine trilateral format to resolve the Ukrainian crisis.

It accused London and other Western capitals of attempting to disrupt the peace process through a large-scale provocation involving civilian casualties.

"The tactic is not new and is used by the sponsors of the Kyiv regime every time a real prospect for a settlement appears," the statement said.

According to the ministry, the timing of the attack is also significant, coinciding with signals from Washington expressing hope that negotiations on the Ukrainian settlement have "reached a turning point" and that achieving peace is quite realistic.

The ministry urged relevant international structures, primarily the UN, to provide an adequate assessment of the strike.

"Silence will be perceived as nothing other than condoning the criminal activities of Zelenskyy and his puppeteers, who are striving to escalate the conflict," it said.