NewsBelgorod building collapses amid conflicting reports of Ukrainian missile attack
Belgorod building collapses amid conflicting reports of Ukrainian missile attack
In the Russian city of Belgorod, near the border with Ukraine, a partial collapse of a ten-story residential building occurred on Sunday. The governor of the Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, attributed the attack to Ukraine. According to Russian authorities, the incident resulted in fatalities and at least a dozen people injured.
Initially, official sources only reported the injured. Later, the Russian Investigative Committee disclosed that there were also fatalities, though the exact number was not specified. The most recent reports from state Russian agencies and media indicate that 13 people were injured.
Earlier reports of casualties were unofficially shared by Telegram channels Baza and Mash, with claims of four and seven people hurt, respectively. It was also mentioned that there were individuals trapped under the debris.
Russia blames Ukraine
Local officials assert that a Ukrainian attack triggered the collapse. Governor Gladkov described it as "a direct hit by a missile".
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the destruction was not caused directly by a missile but by fragments of a Ukrainian Tochka-U missile after being intercepted by air defence forces.
Independent television Nastoyascheye Vremya noted the cause of the building's collapse remains uncertain. In Belgorod, a city on the border, an air raid alarm was sounded five times from Sunday morning.
