A strong explosion hit the Russian city Belgorod not far from the Ukrainian border on Thursday night.
“A huge crater with a radius of 20 meters formed at the intersection of one of the main roads,” said Belgorod Region Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov.
Also in this article:
- Nighttime drone attacks in Kyiv
- mud wrestling
- Zelensky asks for an invitation to join NATO
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As it turned out later, a Russian fighter was responsible. The Ministry of Defense in Moscow initially admitted that a Russian fighter jet dropped a bomb over the city.
Then there was talk of an unplanned shootdown of onboard ammunition: “On April 20, 2023, at around 22:15 Moscow time (21:15 CET), there was an unplanned shootdown of a Su-34 aircraft from the Armed Forces. Aerial. over the city of Belgorod came from ammunition on board,” says a statement from the authority.
Investigations are therefore ongoing.
In surrounding apartment blocks, windows were shattered by the blast, he said. According to Gladkow, residents were housed with friends or relatives or in a hotel for the night. It will be checked whether the supporting walls of the buildings have been damaged. Several cars were badly damaged and power poles were down.
Three people were injured, none of them life-threatening.
More than a year after the start of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, Russia’s border regions are under increasing fire.
According to the governor, this bombing has killed 30 civilians from the Belgorod region since the beginning of the war. Attacks against Ukraine are sometimes launched from Belgorod.
Night drone attacks
Russia made Ukraine according to data Kyiv attacked again with combat drones.
The Ukrainian general staff announced on Facebook that eight of the ten attacks across the country could have been repulsed by Friday night.
➤ Read more: Despite Patriot delivery: Ukrainian air defense threatens to collapse
For the first time in nearly a month, Russian drones fired again at the capital Kiev. In the meantime, air alarms were raised across Ukraine at night. Initially, nothing was known about possible victims.
Since last fall, Moscow has increasingly used Iranian-made combat drones in its attacks.
mud wrestling
According to British military experts, Russian online media deliberately overestimate the importance of terrain conditions for the expected Ukrainian counter-offensive.
This is according to the UK MoD’s daily intelligence update on the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine on Friday.
Consequently, the mud slows down military operations on both sides. According to the British, the impact of the Ukrainian offensive is being overestimated by the Russian side in order to boost its own morale. “Soil conditions should improve in the coming weeks,” he said.
A major constraint on off-road maneuverability is likely to be the risk of landmines.
Zelensky asks for an invitation to join NATO
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on NATO to pave the way for his country to join the Western military alliance at its summit in July. Neither in Ukraine, nor in Europe, nor in NATO would the majority of the population understand if Kiev did not receive a “deserved invitation”, Zelensky said in his daily video on Thursday night.
He had already received NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Kiev.
The meeting was not just about defending Ukraine, but about “upholding the entire rules-based international order and protecting life,” the president said. Hardly anyone is currently contributing more to Euro-Atlantic security than Ukrainian soldiers.
Kiev therefore “did everything to ensure that our request was met”. Several alliance members have reservations about admitting Ukraine.
During his surprise visit to Kiev, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg promised Ukraine more support in its efforts to join the military alliance.
“Ukraine deserves a place in NATO,” he said at a joint news conference with Zelensky. With NATO support, it will also be able to take it over time.
Stoltenberg also referred to a support program announced in early April for Ukraine’s planned NATO membership.
The multi-year initiative is intended to facilitate the country’s adaptation to alliance standards and enable continued cooperation with NATO. It was “proof of NATO’s long-term commitment in Ukraine,” Stoltenberg said in Kiev.