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“This is (Putin’s) war, it is his choice,” he said.

“Russia could end this war today … We call for the protection of all civilians on all sides of every conflict.”

British envoy Thomas Phipps said London “deeply” regrets any civilian losses, but also called out Moscow for having started the war with an invasion two years ago.

“There are hundreds of thousands of Russian soldiers in Ukraine. There is not a single Ukrainian soldier in Russia,” he said.

“If Russia wants someone to blame for the deaths of Russians in this war, it should start with President Putin.”

Phipps likewise said that Russia was the side to blame for targeting non-combatants, saying: “After having failed to defeat Ukraine militarily, Russia has now turned to indiscriminate attacks on civilians.”

The French envoy Nicolas de Riviere said Ukraine was simply defending itself under UN laws, while Moscow was “trampling” over the UN Charter.

Belgorod lies about 30 km (19 miles) from the border with Ukraine and has been repeatedly struck by what Moscow says is indiscriminate shelling by Kyiv’s forces.

“As the war continues we will see more Ukrainian and Russian civilians killed,” said UN assistant secretary general Mohamed Khiari, warning there were “very real dangers of escalation and spillover of this war.”

Unverified footage showed a street strewn with debris and smoke billowing from burnt-out cars in the city’s centre, while a large blast could be heard on dashcam footage posted on social media.

Agence France-Presse was not able to immediately verify the circumstances of the strike, one of the deadliest on Russian soil since Moscow launched hostilities against Ukraine in February 2022.

Two Vilkha missiles and Czech-made rockets were used in the attack, Russia said.