JAKARTA - At least three people were killed and dozens of residential buildings in the Russian city of Belgorod, near the Ukrainian border, were damaged by an explosion. Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov via the Telegram messaging application, as reported by Antara, Sunday, July 3, there were 11 apartments and 39 houses damaged. Gladkov said the incident was being investigated.
"Perhaps, the air defense system is working," he wrote.
The series of explosions also left three people dead, four people injured and two people hospitalized, including a 10-year-old boy.
Reuters was unable to independently verify the report. There was no immediate reaction from Ukraine to the report.
"The sound was so strong that I jumped up, I got up, was so scared and started screaming," a townspeople told Reuters.
He said the explosion occurred around 3am local time.
"The missile hit a residential building about 20 meters from my house.... All the windows in our house were broken, the doors were out of line." he added.
Belgorod, a city of nearly 400,000 about 40 km north of the border with Ukraine, is the administrative center of the Belgorod region.
Since Russia launched its invasion on February 24, 2022, there have been numerous reports of attacks in Belgorod and other areas bordering Ukraine.
Moscow accused Kiev of carrying out the attack. Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the previous attack but has described the incident as retaliation and "karma" for Russia's invasion.
Moscow called its actions a "special military operation" to disarm Ukraine and protect it from fascists.
Ukraine and its allies in the West say the fascist accusations are baseless and the war is an act of unwarranted aggression.
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