The Ukrainian military has allegedly hit a Pantsir S-1 anti-aircraft missile system in the village of Dubovoe in Belgorod Oblast, Pepel, a media outlet based in the region, claimed on June 22.
Air defense was operating at around 12:20 p.m. in the region, Belgorod Oblast Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov claimed. Several aerial targets were allegedly downed as they approached the city of Belgorod, he said.
As a result of the attack, grass was set on fire near the village of Dubovoe, according to Gladkov. The governor also claimed that the fire was promptly extinguished. The roofs of two houses and 17 cars were damaged in the village, he said.
No casualties were reported.
The Russian media outlet Pepel later claimed that a Pantsir surface-to-air missile system was hit. The system was struck by a cluster munition, while its crew survived, according to the outlet.
Black smoke was rising above the place where the Pantsir was located.
The Kyiv Independent could not independently verify the claims.
Ukrainian authorities have not commented on this attack at the moment of publication.
Belgorod Oblast borders Ukraine's Sumy, Kharkiv, and Luhansk oblasts. Claims of missile and drone attacks against the region have recently become a common occurrence after anti-Kremlin Russian militias' incursions into Russian territory.
The U.S. gave Ukraine permission to use American weapons to strike targets in Russia across the border from both Kharkiv and Sumy oblasts, Michael Carpenter, senior director for Europe at the U.S. National Security Council, told the TSN news program on May 31.
Kateryna Denisova
(Updated: )
