Military priest killed as Ukrainian shell explodes in Russian village

A Russian military priest was killed in the shelling of a village near the city of Belgorod, Russia, TASS reports with reference to the Synodal Department for Cooperation with the Russian Armed Forces.

The victim was identified as archpriest Oleg Artemov. According to the Synodal Department, the priest was killed in the shelling of the village of Zhuravlevka in the evening of March 24 in the border village of Zhuravlevka. The village is located in the border area with Ukraine (Russia's Belgorod region borders on Ukraine). 

“The priest came under fire from the Ukrainian Smerch and was killed in the line of duty as an assistant commander of a unit for work with believers,” the department said.

On March 24, it became known that 178 residents of the villages of Zhuravlevka and Nekhoteevka, located near the border with Ukraine, were evacuated to Belgorod. Some of them went to stay with their relatives, others were accommodated in a temporary settlement.

The day before, it was reported that a projectile fired from Ukraine exploded in a village in Russia's Belgorod region. It was also said that several local residents were hurt.