Around 9,000 children will be evacuated from the Russian city of Belgorod and the wider region after shelling that authorities have blamed on Ukraine, Ednews reports via BBC.

Belgorod governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said three people, including a child, were injured in the latest attacks, while part of the region - which borders Ukraine - was without power.

He added that a total of 16 people have been killed and 98 wounded this week.

It comes days after strikes forced closures across the city.

Students in Belgorod were ordered not to attend school on Monday and Tuesday. Shopping centres in Belgorod were also closed on Sunday and Monday.

The new evacuation order affects several villages in the city of Belgorod and several villages in other parts of the region, Mr Gladkov told a gathering of the Kremlin's United Russia party.

The first group of 1,200 children will be evacuated on Friday.

Russia's defence ministry said its forces shot down what is said were nine Ukrainian shells over Belgorod on Tuesday.

The ministry later added it had destroyed two groups of Ukrainian "saboteurs" in pre-emptive strikes near the border with the Belgorod and Kursk regions.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian border areas have continued to report Russian attacks, requiring evacuations there.