Russia has acknowledged that it accidentally bombed one of its own cities close to the Ukrainian border, setting off a huge explosion that left three people hospitalised and caused damage to neighbouring structures.
A Kremlin spokeswoman said that ‘aviation munitions’ fired by a Su-34 supersonic fighter-bomber jet attacked the Russian city of Belgorod late on Thursday.
The type of weapon deployed was not confirmed by the defence ministry.
A Sukhoi Su-34 air force aircraft accidently discharged aviation ammunition as it flew over Belgorod, according to the report. A formal statement was read.
Video evidence shows a 70ft-wide crater caused by the blast with debris strewn around the scene.
The footage shows piles of concrete lining the street, several damaged cars and a building with broken windows.
It also appears to show a car upside down on the roof of a store.
Regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov declared a state of emergency following the explosion, and confirmed two women had suffered from injuries.
In a message on Telegram, he confirmed that there was a large crater in the middle of the city, and that four cars and four apartment buildings had been damaged by the blast.
‘It was miraculous no-one died – at least according to official figures,’ reported journalist Dmitry Kolezev.
‘Apparently the ministry decided that admitting self-bombing is better than admitting that the Armed Forces of Ukraine can inflict such powerful strikes on Russian cities.’
The bomb is suspected to have been a modernised FAB-500M62, a Soviet-designed 500-kilogram (1,100 lb) general purpose air-dropped bomb with a high-explosive warhead.
It is supposed to be ‘high precision’, and has been used to strike targets in Ukraine.
These munitions have reportedly been rushed into service in the war, and are liable to errors.
OSINT analyst Kirill Mikhailov cited by Agentstvo said: ‘In order for everything to work, the bomb must first properly separate, then its wings must open properly and the navigation system should work…
‘Something went wrong in this process.’
Belgorod is around 25 miles from the Ukrainian frontier, and just 50 miles away from Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city.
The area serves as an important staging ground for Russia’s ongoing invasion, and Moscow continues to train soldiers and store fuel/ammunition there.
In July, Mr Gladkov said a Ukrainian missile attack on Belgorod had left at least four dead.