UPDATED: Russia claims rocket attack on Belgorod Oblast
Editor's note: The article was updated following a statement by Belgorod Oblast Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov about alleged casualties in the region.
The Russian Defense Ministry claimed on March 19 that Belgorod Oblast came under a rocket strike, marking yet another alleged attack against the region in the past few days.
The Russian state media and officials claimed that the city of Belgorod, lying not far from the Ukrainian border, was attacked also on March 16, 17, and 18, allegedly resulting in civilian casualties.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify the claims of Russian authorities, and Ukraine does not usually comment on alleged attacks on Russian soil. The news comes days after Russian anti-Kremlin militias reportedly broke into Kursk and Belgorod oblasts, resulting in clashes with the Russian government forces.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, its forces repelled the March 19 attack, supposedly shooting down nine rockets fired from the Czech-made RM-70 Vampire launcher at around 10:30 a.m. local time (GMT+3). Vyacheslav Gladkov, the regional governor, reported an air raid alert around the same time.
According to Gladkov's statement after the reported attack, four people were injured in Razumnoye, a village lying near Belgorod. The governor also alleged that 13 houses, 10 flats in eight apartment buildings, and 19 cars were damaged. Windows were also broken in local school and kindergarten buildings, he claimed.
Damage was further reported in the villages of Nikolskoye, Nizhny Olshanets, and Belovskoye.
Footage shared by the Russian Baza Telegram channel supposedly captures several burning cars and black smoke rising above Belgorod.
Igor Kossov
