Footage of a massive explosion has emerged in Belgorod, western Russia, at the site of a suspected weapons depot believed to have been hit by a Ukrainian missile.
The blast, which happened just 12 miles from the Russia-Ukraine border near the village of Krasniy Oktyabr outside the city of Belgorod, set off a series of firework-like explosions that could be seen from Ukraine tonight.
Ukrainian journalist Yuriy Butusov claimed that the depot was destroyed by an OTR-21 Tochka-U ballistic missile launched by Ukraine’s 19th Missile Brigade, although this has not yet been confirmed by Ukrainian officials.
If the missile attack is confirmed by Ukrainian forces, it will be only the second Ukrainian attack on Russian territory since the war began, after the Millerovo airbase attack in late February.
Footage of a massive explosion has emerged in Belgorod, western Russia, at the site of a suspected weapons depot believed to have been hit by a Ukrainian missile. The blast, which occurred just 12 miles from the Russia-Ukraine border near the village of Krasniy Oktyabr outside the city of Belgorod, set off a series of firework-like explosions that could be seen from Ukraine
Belgorod governor Vyacheslav Gladkov confirmed reports of the blast and said no Russian citizens were injured, but refused to clarify the reason for the blast.
“Explosions were heard on the territory of Belgorod and the Belgorod region,” Gladkov said.
“The incident happened near the village of Krasniy Oktyabr. The village chief is in direct contact with me and has given me all the information. There are no casualties or injuries among the residents.’
“I’ll post the reason for this later,” he added.
However, the Russian news agency TASS reported that four Russian military personnel were injured and said, according to preliminary reports, that the explosion was caused by a Ukrainian missile.
“The shell hit the territory of a temporary military camp in the Belgorod region. Four soldiers were injured,” an EMS source told TASS.
The alleged Ukrainian shelling of the Belgorod target comes on the same day that Russia announced it would start withdrawing troops from Kyiv and Chernihiv, following peace talks with Ukrainian delegates in Istanbul.
The Ukrainian delegation at the conference laid out a framework under which the country would declare itself neutral and its security would be guaranteed by a number of other nations.
Moscow’s public reaction has been positive, and negotiations are set to resume on Wednesday, five weeks after a bloody war of attrition that has left thousands dead and nearly 4 million Ukrainians fleeing the country.
Amid the talks, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin said Moscow had decided to “fundamentally … limit military activity towards Kyiv and Chernihiv” in order to “enhance mutual trust and create conditions for further negotiations.”
The Kremlin’s deputy defense minister, Alexander Fomin (L), said the change on the battlefield was intended to boost confidence in peace talks and hinted that the fundamentals of a ceasefire could be at play. His superior Sergey Shoigu (R), meanwhile, said Russian forces would now focus on “liberating” the eastern Donbass region rather than attacking major Ukrainian cities
Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, chief military commander in charge of the defense of the Ukrainian capital, walks into a trench at a position north of the capital Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, March 29, 2022. The first face-to-face talks in two weeks between Russia and Ukraine began in Turkey on Tuesday, raising flickering hopes there could be progress in ending a war that has become a bloody campaign of attrition
His superior Sergei Shoigu, meanwhile, said Russian forces would now focus on “liberating” the eastern Donbass region instead of attacking major Ukrainian cities, a major tactical change amidst the fierce resistance.
But the announcement was met with skepticism in Europe and the US, with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson saying today that Vladimir Putin could still try to “twist the knife” as the war enters a new phase.
And Western officials remain extremely suspicious of Russia’s true intentions, arguing that Russian attacks have continued despite promises by the Kremlin to reduce troops in major urban centers.
An official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: “Nothing we have seen so far has shown us that President Putin and his colleagues mean business in a particularly serious way [scaling back]. It’s more of a tactical exercise to play for time.
“Even if they do as they say, that is in no way a cessation of hostilities… I think we can continue to see death and destruction [in the Donbass].’