Global Courant 2023-04-21 16:38:57
A Russian warplane accidentally dropped a bomb on one of its own cities, Russia’s defense ministry said on Friday. The blast injured three people and caused panic in a major city along the border with Ukraine.
On Thursday night, reports came in for the first time that an explosion had occurred in the center of Belgorod, a southern Russian city with a population of 400,000 just across the border with Ukraine. Widely circulated video footage showed a burst of smoke and flames near an intersection through which cars drove, sending a parked vehicle spinning through the air.
Suspicion initially fell on Ukraine: since the start of the war last year, Russian authorities have blamed Kiev for a series of covert attacks on railway bridges and other strategic targets in Belgorod. The attacks have put Belgorod on edge; some residents have said they fear the Ukrainians might even invade.
But on Friday morning, Russia’s defense ministry released a statement saying the explosion was caused by “an accidental discharge of aviation munitions” by a Russian fighter jet flying over Belgorod around 10 p.m. on Thursday. The jet was identified as a Su-34, considered one of the most advanced Russian aircraft.
Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of the Belgorod region, said three people were injured, including one with a concussion. The blast shook a nearby apartment building so much that local authorities decided to evacuate it.
“Thank God no one died,” Mr. Gladkov said in a video posted to the Telegram social messaging app.
The Defense Ministry said the incident is under investigation.
Boris Rozhin, a pro-Russian military analyst and blogger, suggested in a post on Telegram that the accident could have resulted from a malfunction of a GPS guidance kit attached to an ammunition carried by the Su-34. Ukrainian officials and military analysts say Moscow is using the kits in an effort to convert unguided munitions into low-cost substitutes for precision air weapons.
The kits are still “raw” and can easily malfunction, potentially leading to accidents like the one in Belgorod, Mr. Rozhin.
Russia accidentally bombs its own Belgorod
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