A Russian Sukhoi-34 fighter jet mistakenly dropped a bomb on the city of Belgorod, located approximately 40 km (25 miles) from the border with Ukraine. The resulting explosion created a 20-meter (60-foot) crater and was powerful enough to propel a car onto the roof of a nearby shop.
Vyacheslav Gladkov, the regional governor, announced that three people were injured, and several buildings were damaged. Authorities ordered the evacuation of a nine-story apartment building as a safety measure. Videos posted on social media captured the explosion’s impact, revealing a car being lifted onto the roof of a supermarket near the bustling Prospekt Vatutina in the city center.
The Russian defense ministry acknowledged the incident in a brief statement, admitting that an Su-34 fighter bomber had “accidentally discharged aircraft ordnance” at 22:15 local time (19:15 GMT) on Thursday. The statement did not specify which weapon was mistakenly fired. The bomb landed at an intersection near the city center and residential buildings, resulting in two women being hospitalized for treatment.
Gladkov expressed relief on social media, stating, “Thank God no one was killed.” CCTV footage of the event showed the near-miss nature of the accident, with cars passing through the intersection just before the ordnance detonated.
Clearer video of a Russian bomb that detonated in Belgorod last night. pic.twitter.com/vZnoFFvq7J
— Dmitri (@wartranslated) April 21, 2023
Although the incident is undoubtedly embarrassing for the Russian military, officials do not believe it will negatively affect Russian public opinion regarding the Kremlin’s ongoing “special military operation.” In October, a similar incident involving an Su-34 fighter jet crashing in the Russian city of Yeysk resulted in at least 13 fatalities.
The military has initiated an investigation into the Belgorod incident, but according to pro-government news site Moskovsky Komsomolets, a former military pilot indicated that “the conclusions [of the investigation] are unlikely to be made public, but lessons will be learned.”
Maintenance workers have already begun repairing the damaged intersection, with the mayor stating that the road would be resurfaced on Monday. The regional governor expressed confidence in Belgorod’s residents’ resilience in the face of this challenging event.
Russian jets frequently fly over Belgorod, a city of 370,000 inhabitants, en route to Ukraine. The city, situated just north of Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, has experienced periodic Ukrainian attacks since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine last year.
