Russia Bombs Own City Twice in One Day: Reports

Russia bombed its eastern city of Belgorod, near the border with Ukraine, twice in a single day, according to local reports.

The Soviet-designed FAB aerial bombs were dropped by an aircraft belonging to Russia’s military on January 27, but the explosives didn’t detonate or cause any casualties, the independent Russian Telegram news channel ASTRA reported. Both bombs were defused the next day, the channel said.

Newsweek couldn’t independently verify the report and has contacted Russia’s defense ministry by email for additional comment.

Belgorod is located near the Ukrainian border and houses several Russian military bases and training grounds. The region has been rocked by explosions and mysterious fires throughout Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, with local authorities regularly reporting unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the area.

There have been numerous incidents reported in recent weeks that involved Russia’s military accidentally dropping munitions and missiles on its own civilians.

On January 21, ASTRA reported that another FAB aerial bomb was dropped on one of its own dams in Belgorod.

Days earlier, on January 13, Russia dropped Kalibr missiles in the Krasnodar area, located in the North Caucasus region in southern Russia, twice in a single day.

The first Russian Kalibr missile fell in the region between the villages of Pavlovskaya and Atamanskaya in the morning, and the second came down in a field during the evening, causing no casualties or damage, ASTRA reported, citing sources in the region’s emergency services, Russian military analyst Ian Matveev, and analysts from the Conflict Intelligence Team.

And on January 2, a Russian missile fell on the village of Petropavlovka in the Voronezh region, injuring four people.

In a rare admission, the 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 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.

A similar incident in April 2023 saw Russia’s defense ministry admit to its own fighter jets accidentally bombing Belgorod, damaging multi-story buildings and injuring local residents.

The Kremlin hasn’t commented on the latest incident reported in Belgorod.

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