Russian Fighter Jet Accidentally Bombs Belgorod City Bordering Ukraine, 3 Injured

Screenshot of Youtube @Guardian News

JAKARTA - A Russian Sukhoi-34 fighter jet accidentally bombed the city of Belgorod in Russia, about 40 km (25 miles) from the border with Ukraine. The bomb left the crater 20 m (60 feet) long and caused a huge explosion. Regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said authorities had ordered the evacuation of a damaged nine-story flat block as a precaution. "Three people were injured and several buildings were damaged," Vyacheslav Gladkov was quoted as saying by the BBC, Friday, April 21. Video posted on social media showed the impact of the explosion, lifting a vehicle to the roof of the supermarket. Meanwhile, vehicles pass along Vatutina's prospect, close to the city center. In a brief statement, the Russian Ministry of Defense admitted that one of its Su-34 combat bombers accidentally released the aircraft armament at around 22:15 p.m. local time (19:15 GMT). The bomb landed at the intersection of two roads not far from the city center and beside the residential building. Vyacheslav Gladkov continued, two women were rushed to the hospital. "Alhamdulillah, no one was killed," he said on social media. CCTV footage from the incident shows that local residents were lucky to be able to escape. The video shows a series of cars passing through a crossroads, before an object lands on the ground nearby. There was no immediate explosion. The armament exploded about 18 seconds later, blew up part of the road, lifted one of the cars while passing by and made a parked car fly into the air before landing on the roof of the supermarket. Despite being embarrassing for the Russian military, the acknowledgment of an 'accident' shows that officials here do not believe the incident will have a negative impact on Russia's public opinion on what the Kremlin still calls a "special military operation". In October, a Sukhoi fighter jet once again, a Su- 34-fall in the Russian city of Yeysk and killing at least 13 people. The military said it had launched an investigation into the incident. Citing a former military pilot, pro-government news site Moskovsky Komsomolets suggested "the conclusion [the investigation] is unlikely to be published, but lessons will be learned". In the morning the maintenance workers had started work repairing the busy intersection in Belgorod. The mayor said most of the work would be done on weekends and roads would reopen on Monday. Local governors say Belgorod residents have had a difficult night but will pass through. Russian jets regularly fly over Belgorod, a city of 370,000, on its way to Ukraine.

It is located just north of Ukraine's second city, Kharkiv, and has been attacked periodically by Ukraine since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine last year.