Explosions in Russia's Belgorod, regional governor announces casualties

Several explosions were heard on the night of July 3 in the Russian city of Belgorod, located near the border of the Russian Federation and Ukraine, reported the BBC Russian service with reference to local media and eyewitnesses.

The Governor of the Belgorod Region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, confirmed the "series of loud noises" in Belgorod. "The reasons for what happened are being clarified, probably the anti-aircraft defense was activated," he wrote.

According to him, there are three victims as a result of a fire in a private house. According to Gladkov, the victims were taken to the hospital and are being given the necessary assistance.

Later, the governor of the region announced that three people died as a result of "loud sounds". According to him, four more people were injured, two of them were taken to the hospital. "A man and a 10-year-old child. The man is now in a grave condition," Gladkov said.

According to the governor, there are partial destructions of 11 apartment buildings and 34 private residential buildings (five of them completely).

Incidents on the territory of the Russian Federation

Regular incidents have been reported in Russia, which resulted in damage to the infrastructure. For example, on June 20, the governor of the Bryansk region of Russia, Aleksandr Bogomaz, announced that the village of Suzemka had been shelled, allegedly from Ukraine, which was preceded by shelling from the Russian Federation. Ukrainian defense agencies did not comment on this information.

Before that, on June 14, explosions sounded in the village of Zaimishche, Klintsy urban district, Bryansk Region, and on May 1, a fire broke out on the territory of one of the facilities of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation in the Belgorod Region.

Such events affect Russia's ability to attack Ukraine. For example, the British Ministry of Defense assumed that the explosions at the warehouse with ammunition in the Belgorod area, which occurred at the end of March, and the destruction of oil depots in this city could make it difficult for Russia to attack Kharkiv.

However, Ukraine did not directly confirm its participation in the incidents. For example, Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of the NSDC, stated that Ukraine was not involved in the explosions at the oil depot in Belgorod in early April. According to him, this is the work of local residents, because contradictions are accumulating and society in Russia is beginning to "understand something".

However, at the end of April, the adviser to the head of the President's Office Mykhailo Podolyak stated that Ukraine will defend itself by any available means, in particular by striking warehouses and bases on the territory of Russia.