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.
