A Russian military jet accidentally bombed the city of Belgorod north of the Ukrainian border, the Russian defence ministry said, leaving a massive crater and damaging homes and cars.
At least three people were wounded in the incident, according to state-run media.
The “discharge of ordnance” occurred on Thursday evening as a Sukhoi Su-34 jet flew over Belgorod, the Tass news service reported, citing the Defence Ministry. The ensuing explosion left a 20-metre-wide crater on a residential street in the city centre.
“During the flight of the Su-34 aircraft of the aerospace forces over the city of Belgorod, an abnormal descent of aviation ammunition has occurred,” the ministry said.
Of the three people injured, one woman was admitted to hospital, Tass said, citing Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov. One residential building was evacuated and bomb disposal units are working at the site, according to the news service.
Russian jets have regularly flown sorties over Belgorod, about 40 kilometres from the frontier, since the launch of Moscow’s offensive in February 2022.
Gladkov said the blast on Thursday sent a shock wave that damaged four apartments and four cars and downed power line poles.
One picture he posted on social media showed grim-looking local residents huddling outside an apartment building, with one woman holding a small dog, and a fire engine nearby.
In January, Gladkov complained to Russian President Vladimir Putin that 25 people had been killed and more than 90 injured in the region since the start of the offensive.
In October 2022, an SU-34 jet crashed into a residential building in the southern city of Yeysk, also near the border with Ukraine, killing 16 people, including several children.
