Ukraine launched deliberate strikes on residential districts of the Russian cities of Belgorod and Kursk, targeting people, according to the Russian Defense Ministry on Sunday.

"Tonight from 03:00 to 03:30 Moscow time [00:00 to 00:30 GMT], the Kiev regime committed a deliberate strike with Tochka-U ballistic missiles with cluster ammunition and Tu-143 Reis drones on residential areas of Belgorod and Kursk, where there are no military facilities. This missile strike was purposefully planned and was carried out against the civilian population of Russian cities," the Ministry told reporters.

According to the Ministry, Russian air defense destroyed two Tu-143 unmanned aerial vehicles loaded with explosives on their way to Kursk and fired down all three Tochka-U missiles above Belgorod, though the wreckage of one missile landed on a residential structure.

Read next: Israeli mercenary fighting for Ukraine taken captive by LPR

Earlier in the day, a Sputnik correspondent claimed that loud popping sounds were heard in Belgorod and adjacent areas, with the pops being so forceful that windows in houses rattled and car alarms went off.

Later that day, Vyacheslav Gladkov, governor of Russia's Belgorod Region, reported three deaths and at least four injuries, including one kid. Eleven residential buildings and over 30 individual dwellings were also damaged, with five completely demolished.

Read next: Russian MoD: NATO arms depot destroyed in western Ukraine

Moreover, Minsk's national air defense systems intercepted earlier this week missiles fired by the Ukrainian armed forces at military sites in Belarus, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Saturday.

"Three or more days ago, they launched missiles from the Ukrainian territory in an attempt to strike military facilities in Belarus, but Pantsir systems intercepted all missiles fired by the Ukrainian armed forces," the President said. 

Lukashenko called the attempted attack a provocation designed to pull his country into war. He also noted that there were no Belarusian boots on the ground in Ukraine and that he wanted Minsk to have no part in the conflict.

"We do not want to fight in Ukraine. There is absolutely no need in this war here," he said.