During the year, at least 38 russian aerial bombs fell on the territory of the aggressor state of russia - in the Belgorod Region. At the same time, the authorities hide these facts, blaming the Defense Forces of Ukraine or not naming the reasons for the "explosions".
It was reported by The Washington Post with reference to an internal russian document.
"The powerful glide-bombs that Russia has used to such great effect to pound Ukrainian cities into rubble have also been falling on its own territory, an internal Russian document has revealed," the report said.
Thus, according to a document obtained by The Washington Post, at least 38 bombs fell in the Belgorod Region on the border with Ukraine between April 2023 and April 2024, although most of them did not explode.
It is indicated that most of the bombs were discovered by civilians - foresters, farmers or residents of the surrounding villages. In most cases, the Defense Ministry did not know when the bombs were launched, indicating that some of them may have been there for days.
Also, according to the document, at least 4 bombs fell on the city of Belgorod itself, a regional center with a population of about 400,000 people. Another 7 were found in the surrounding suburbs. The largest number – 11 – fell in the border Graivoron district, where some of them could not be recovered due to the "difficult operational situation".
The document, intercepted by Ukrainian intelligence and provided to The Post, contains a table of incidents with references to emergency bomb disposal and evacuation orders and appears to be the product of the city of Belgorod's emergency department.
The publication noted that Astra, an independent russian media outlet, verified that many of the incidents described in the document matched those it had received from local authorities and local media reports. The people mentioned as witnesses have been confirmed as local residents.
It noted that while the bombs do not normally explode, one of the first recorded bombs that fell on Belgorod in April 2023 detonated after crashing into a normally busy street, creating a 65-foot-wide crater (almost 20 meters), shattering windows and hurling parked cars onto roofs of buildings. The impact happened at night, however, and no casualties were reported. A day later a second, unexploded bomb was found buried 23 feet (7 meters) into the ground.
At the time, the russian military admitted that the cause of the explosion was the "accidental discharge of aviation ammunition" from a russian Su-34 fighter-bomber. The document later confirmed that it was a FAB-500, a glide bomb.
Local authorities tend to keep quiet about these incidents, reporting only "accidents", blaming them on Ukrainian shelling, or simply not reporting the various explosions that have rumbled in the area, especially recently.
On May 4 – after the period covered by the document at the disposal of the newspaper – another bomb fell on Belgorod, injuring seven people and damaging more than 30 buildings. Citing a source in the emergency services, Astra reported that it was also a FAB-500.
Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said only that "there was an explosion."
"The governor always reports what exactly caused the explosion, but this time he decided not to disclose it. This indirectly confirms that the explosion was caused by a Russian air bomb that fell on the house during the bombing. The nature of the destruction also indicates this,” independent local outlet Pepel noted at the time.
On May 12, another explosion destroyed several floors of a residential building in Belgorod, killing 17 people. The russian military blamed it on a Ukrainian missile, while the Conflict Intelligence Team, a russian research group specializing in open-source investigations, said video from the scene indicated it was the result of another accidental FAB-500 bombing or a rogue antiaircraft missile fired by a Russian defense system.
On June 15, an explosion occurred in the city of Shebekino near Belgorod and a part of a five-story building collapsed, resulting in the death of at least five people, which was probably the result of another “glide bomb mishap.”
According to Astra's own calculations, russia has accidentally dropped more than a hundred bombs on its own territory, as well as on occupied areas in the east of Ukraine, in the past four months - the same period that has seen a significant increase in the use of cruise bombs.
The russian government did not respond to requests for comment on the document or the report on the failed use of glide bombs.
As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, meanwhile, on July 1, about 90% of the Belgorod Region of the aggressor country of the russian federation was left without electricity. According to information from open sources, the blackout occurred as a result of a simultaneous attack by drones and the detonation of improvised explosive devices at a substation.
Who we are: About us, Contacts. How we write news and our principles: Editorial code. We did our best. If you found this valuable – please support us.
To request a correction, please send an email.