April 20 (Portal) – A Russian warplane accidentally fired a gun at the city of Belgorod near Ukraine late Thursday, causing an explosion and damaging buildings, Tass quoted the Defense Ministry as saying.
Local authorities reported a large explosion in the city, which is just across the border from Ukraine. The regional governor said two women were injured.
“When an Air Force Sukhoi Su-34 aircraft flew over the city of Belgorod, an accidental launch of aviation munitions occurred,” Tass quoted the Defense Ministry as saying.
It was not said what type of weapon it was.
The Su-34 is a supersonic fighter-bomber.
The ministry said some buildings had been damaged and announced an investigation was already underway, according to Tass.
The governor of the Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, declared a state of emergency and said on Telegram that there was a crater 20 meters (65 feet) in diameter on one of the main roads. Four cars and four homes were damaged, he added.
Video footage from the site showed piles of concrete on the street, several damaged cars and a building with broken windows. One shot showed what appeared to be a car upside down on a store roof.
The Belgorod region is one of several parts of southern Russia where targets such as fuel and ammunition depots have been hit by explosions since the start of what Moscow has dubbed a “military special operation” in Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Jonathan Oatis
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