6 Killed in Missile Attack Against Russia's Belgorod

Updated with injury, death count.

Rescue workers in the western Russian city of Belgorod have recovered the bodies of six people buried beneath the rubble of an apartment building that collapsed earlier on Sunday after being struck by a Ukrainian missile.

"A sixth victim has been recovered from under the rubble in Belgorod," Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry said on Telegram after previously reporting that five people had been found dead in the same place.

Russia's Defense Ministry said earlier on Sunday that a Ukrainian Tochka-U missile hit a "residential district" in the city after it was intercepted by air defense systems. 

It was not immediately possible to verify the Defense Ministry's claim.

"The number of injured, according to the latest data, is 20 people," emergency services were quoted as saying by the state-run TASS news agency. Russia's Health Minister had previously said 17 people were injured.

A video released by the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry showed firefighters and rescuers trying to remove a huge pile of tangled rubble.

Belgorod region Governor Viacheslav Gladkov posted a video to Telegram showing the collapsed apartment building.

"Following direct shell fire on a residential building... the entire entrance, from the tenth to the ground floor, collapsed," Gladkov said, condemning what he called "massive bombings" by the Ukrainian military.

The Emergency Situations Ministry warned the number of victims could rise after part of the building roof caved in just as rescuers were searching for survivors.

One resident told RIA Novosti she was in a building corridor when an explosion went off and her husband was in a bedroom.

"He did not have time [to escape]," the woman was quoted as saying by the news agency.

Belgorod has been regularly targeted by Ukrainian drone and missile attacks since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.