Explosions struck the centre of a Russian city just north of Ukraine early Sunday, massacring four people, according to officials, in the deadliest known incident affecting civilians in Russia since the conflict erupted.
The Russian Defense Ministry accused Ukraine of the explosions in Belgorod. While Ukraine has occasionally attacked fuel and military targets in Russia’s border region, this is the first occasion Russia has accused Ukraine of carrying out a lethal attack on a major city center on the Russian side of the border.
According to Russian officials, Ukraine launched three Soviet-era missiles at Belgorod, all of which were intercepted by Russian air defence systems. According to them, one collapsed to the ground in central Belgorod, exacerbating the destruction.
The Ukrainian military made no immediate comment, but Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s Interior Ministry, said he believed Russia was behind the strike, which was intended to be used for propaganda.
Ukraine and its international allies it has repeatedly condemned Russia for bombing civilian infrastructure on a much larger scale since its February invasion of its neighbour.
Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of the Belgorod region, stated four people have been killed, along with three Ukrainians; the Russian state news agency has said that the three were a refugee family from nearby Kharkiv. According to Mr Gladkov, the bombings impacted 11 apartment buildings and 39 houses, along with five that were destroyed.
Mr Gladkov, attired in a T-shirt and jeans, informed astonished citizens on a Belgorod walkway Sunday morning, as per a video posted by Russian media. “I can’t promise you that this won’t happen again — you know that.”
A few Russian politicians called for immediate retaliation against Ukraine on Sunday, but the Kremlin has initially sought to downplay any Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory, ostensibly to avoid assuming that Russian civilians are in danger in a conflict that officials refer to as a “special military operation.”
The Russian Defense Ministry released a statement Sunday morning claiming that Ukraine had used Tu-143 drones and Tochka-U missiles to target residential neighbourhoods there in the cities of Belgorod and Kursk in a “deliberate strike.”
Russian air defence systems shot down all of Ukraine’s missile systems, but pieces of one slipped onto a house in Belgorod, according to a statement from Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Gen. Igor Konashenkov.
“I want to emphasise that such a missile attack was purposefully planned and executed against the civil population of Russian cities,” said General Konashenkov.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria V. Zakharova, claimed a few hours later, without providing evidence that the West prompted Kyiv to strike Russian cities “to push us to launch retaliatory strikes.”
“We have thus far deterred from having taken such actions, but we will be closely monitoring developments,” she said in a comment. “Those who act in this manner ought to be informed that if provocations proceed, they should be wary.”
Images shared on social media and by Russian news outlets showed smoke rising from various places, that have at least one house on fire.
While residents of Belgorod are no longer astonished by the odd bit shocks of air-defence systems, Sunday was distinguishable, according to Vladimir Kornev, a local blogger, in a phone interview.
The Ukrainian government has said little about the threats on Russian soil. American and British officials have however stated that they believe Ukraine has the right to retaliate against Russian military targets. The US has warned Ukraine’s military not to use newly sourced long-range American artillery for cross-border attacks.
