Russia claims another rocket attack on Belgorod Oblast
Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of Russia's Belgorod Oblast, claimed that Belgorod and the surrounding region came under a rocket attack late on March 16, allegedly resulting in damage and one person injured.
This is the second reported attack against the city in a single day. Two people were allegedly killed in another rocket strike in the morning, according to Gladkov.
Earlier on March 16, Russian anti-Kremlin militias warned Belgorod residents that a "massive strike will be carried out against military facilities and Russian military positions" in the city at 5 p.m. local time (GMT+3).
The militias, which launched incursions into Belgorod and Kursk oblasts on March 12, did not specify whether their own forces would be launching the attack, and Gladkov did not identify the attacker.
The governor announced an hour-long air raid alert in the region at around 5 p.m. Gladkov claimed that 15 projectiles from the Czech-made Vampire multiple-launch rocket launcher were downed by Russian air defenses over Belgorod Oblast.
According to Gladkov, debris from the downed rockets hit an industrial enterprise, starting a fire and injuring one of its employees. Some fragments also reportedly fell into a garden of a private residence in Belgorod. Two houses, a car, and a power line were damaged elsewhere in Belgorod Oblast, the governor alleged.
Russian Telegram channels shared multiple videos supposedly capturing sounds of explosions in the city. One video showed black smoke rising over a building.
According to the Telegram news channel Baza, witnesses reported damage in the village of Razumnoye not far from Belgorod.
Ukrainian officials did not comment on the claims, which cannot be independently verified.
Belgorod lies less than 40 kilometers (around 25 miles) north of the border with Ukraine's Kharkiv Oblast. Local officials have alleged strikes against the city multiple times throughout the full-scale war, for example, on March 14.
Elsa Court
