NewsTragedy and tension: The Belgorod building collapses amid conflicting accounts

Tragedy and tension: The Belgorod building collapses amid conflicting accounts

Explosion and collapse of a 10-story building in Biełgorod, Russia.

Images source: © TG

13 May 2024 06:53

The Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations announced overnight from Sunday to Monday that the body of the 15th victim was extracted from the rubble of a building in Belgorod. A section of the building collapsed on Sunday afternoon. The cause of the high-rise's collapse remains unknown. The Kremlin has accused Ukraine of an attack, a claim to which Ukraine has not responded.

In the construction disaster in Belgorod, Russia, 15 people lost their lives, and at least 20 were injured. Overnight from Sunday to Monday, the Ministry of Emergency Situations reported that the body of the 15th victim was retrieved from the debris. Rescue teams are continuing their efforts to search through the rubble. It is reported that about 16 apartments were destroyed.

Disaster in Belgorod

Social media photos show that one high-rise staircase was utterly destroyed while the others appear intact.

The regional governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, alleges that a "direct hit by a missile" caused the floors to collapse. Contrarily, the Russian Ministry of Defense contends that the building was not hit by a missile but was struck by fragments of a Ukrainian Tochka-U missile intercepted by air defence systems.

On that day, the border town of Belgorod sounded the air raid alarm five times.

Different interpretations of the event

The BBC reports that representatives from various Russian services have presented different accounts of the explosion's cause and the subsequent collapse of the staircase. The Russian Investigative Committee claims the missile struck the building as a result of an attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces and has opened a criminal case classifying the incident as an "act of terrorism."

However, as the BBC noted, other theories are more popular on social networks. These include suggestions of an internal explosion or the "irregular landing" of ammunition from a Russian bomber, incidents that have allegedly occurred before.

Video of the explosion

Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Center for Countering Disinformation, highlights a camera video showing the explosion. He points out the absence of any falling objects, casting doubt on the Russian accusations of bombardment by Ukrainian Defense Forces.

He speculates that the building could have been intentionally blown up, as this incident might have been a provocation by Russia or an informational ploy aimed at escalating the situation to justify further attacks on residential areas in Ukrainian cities.

Kyiv has not commented on the Belgorod incidents.

Tensions in Belgorod

The unrest in Belgorod continues. On Saturday, according to a report by Reuters, citing the regional governor, one woman was killed, and 29 people were injured due to Ukrainian shelling in the Belgorod region of Russia.

Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov reported that both the city of Belgorod and the surrounding region were subjected to heavy shelling by Ukrainian forces.

It is important to note that Reuters has yet to verify these reports independently.