Russia’s military accidentally targeted its own civilians on Monday for the second time in a week.
A Russian aircraft dropped a bomb on the town Rubezhnoye in the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic, which is in Ukraine’s Donbas region, but is controlled by Kremlin-installed legislatures.
“As combat missions were executed by aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces over the city of Rubezhnoye, an emergency discharge of the FAB-250 aircraft munition occurred,” the Moscow-backed head of the region, Leonid Pasechnik said in a post on his Telegram channel, adding that no casualties were reported.
People living in nearby houses were evacuated and have been offered the opportunity to stay at a temporary accommodation center, Pasechnik said.
DIMITAR DILKOFF/POOL/AFP/Getty Images
The official said an investigation has been launched by a department of Russia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and representatives of Russia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations.
Newsweek has contacted Russia’s Defense Ministry for comment by email. The Kremlin hasn’t commented on the incident.
It marks the second case of ordnance from a Russian aircraft accidentally hitting a Russian-controlled settlement in a week.
On January 2, a plane accidentally fired a missile at a village in western Russia, destroying multiple homes.
In a rare admission, Russia’s Defense Ministry said one of its own warplanes accidentally targeted the village of Petropavlovka, damaging at least six privately owned buildings. Videos circulating on social media showed a huge crater in the ground, caused by an explosion, and scattered debris
“At around 9:00 a.m. on January 2, while an air force plane was flying over the village of Petropavlovka in the Voronezh region, there was an emergency release of aviation munitions,” the defense ministry said in a statement.
“An investigation is underway into the circumstances of the incident. A commission is working on-site to assess the nature of the damage and assist in the restoration of buildings,” it added.
“Russian authorities confirmed that a Russian missile fell in Russian Voronezh region,” Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s minister of internal affairs, said on X. “The information was officially confirmed by Voronezh region governor Gusev. He called the incident ‘an emergency descent of ammunition.'”
“During Russian missile attacks on Ukraine, Russians in the regions that are on the missiles’ path should go to shelters, it follows,” Gerashchenko added. “The Russian army is a threat to Russians.”
Voronezh regional governor Alexander Gusev asked residents to remain calm, and said there were no casualties. He said residents of several streets in the affected village were being relocated to temporary housing.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.