Russian Warplane Inadvertently Hits Own City, Explosions, Buildings Damaged

The defense ministry was quoted by Tass as saying that a Russian warplane accidentally shot a weapon into the city of Belgorod, which is close to Ukraine. This caused an explosion and damage to buildings.

Local officials said that there was a big blast in the city, which is right next to the border with Ukraine. The mayor of the area said that two women had been hurt.

“As a Sukhoi Su-34 air force plane flew over the city of Belgorod, aviation ammunition went off by accident,” the defense ministry was quoted by Tass as saying.

There was no mention of what kind of weapon was used.

The Su-34 is a fighter-bomber jet that can fly faster than the speed of sound.

According to Tass, the ministry said that some buildings had been destroyed and that an investigation was already under way.

The governor of the Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, declared a state of emergency on Telegram and said that there was a hole on one of the main streets that was 20 meters (65 feet) across. He also said that four cars and four apartment houses were hurt.

Video from the scene showed piles of concrete on the street, several damaged cars, and a building with broken windows. In one shot, what looked like an upside-down car was on top of a shop.

Since the start of what Moscow calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, explosions have hit a number of targets in southern Russia, including fuel and ammo stores.