Russia has admitted accidentally striking one of its own cities near Ukraine after a large explosion left two women injured and damaged buildings.
Belgorod was struck by “aviation ammunition” from an Su-34 supersonic fighter-bomber jet late on Thursday, Russia’s defence ministry told the state-owned Tass news agency.
The defence ministry did not confirm what kind of weapon was fired.
“As a Sukhoi Su-34 air force plane was flying over the city of Belgorod there was an accidental discharge of aviation
ammunition,” the statement said.
The defence ministry added some buildings were damaged and announced a probe was already under way, according to Tass.
The ordnance came from a Sukhoi Su-34 fighter-bomber AP file Pic
Vyacheslav Gladkov, the regional governor, said two women were injured in the blast and announced a state of emergency.
Mr Gladkov said on the Telegram messaging app there was a crater measuring 20 metres (65 feet) across on one of the main streets.
He added four cars and four apartment buildings were damaged in the blast.
Video footage from the site shows piles of concrete on the street, several damaged cars and a building with broken windows.
The video appears to show a car upside down on the roof of a store.
A damaged apartment in Belgorod after the blast
Mayor of the city of Belgorod Valentin Demidov speaks with a local resident in a damaged apartment
The Belgorod region is one of several parts of southern Russia where fuel and ammunition stores have been targeted by Ukraine since the start of the war in February 2022.
In July, Mr Gladkov said a Ukrainian missile attack on Belgorod had left at least four dead.
Meanwhile, Russia’s deputy ambassador to the UN has denied his country is carrying out war crimes through the mass forcible transfers of children.
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From July 2022: Russia blames Ukraine for blasts in Belgorod
Dmitry Polyanskiy told Sky News: “Of course it’s not a war crime. We’ve been accused of stealing children but in fact we’re saving children from the Ukrainian army, first and foremost.
“[This] is just another smear campaign against Russia which is unfortunately exploiting the issue of children at war.”
It came after Sky News spoke to a group of orphans, taken at gunpoint and illegally transferred to Russia, about their remarkable escape – and revealed what life is like in the institutions where others like them end up.
