MOSCOW: Twenty-five people have been killed and more than 90 injured in Russia's border region of Belgorod since the start of Moscow's assault on Ukraine, the region's governor told President Vladimir Putin.

"Ukraine, the enemy, is targeting peaceful settlements. There are 25 dead, 96 people were wounded," governor Vyacheslav Gladkov told Putin in televised remarks.

Russia says killed Ukraine ‘saboteurs’ trying to cross border

This is the first time Russian officials have announced an official death toll for a Russian region since the start of Moscow's offensive in Ukraine.