[1/3]People stand by a damaged window after the governor of Russia’s western region blamed a Ukrainian drone for damage to an apartment building in the city of Belgorod, Russia August 13, 2023. Governor of the Belgorod region via Telegram/Handout via REUTERS
MOSCOW (Reuters) – The governor of Russia’s western region blamed a Ukrainian drone for damaging an apartment building in the city of Belgorod on Sunday, after Russia’s defense ministry said air defenses had shot down at least four Ukrainian drones in the west. from the country.
“Belgorod state of emergency,” Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of Belgorod, said on his Telegram channel, sharing images of shattered windows and smashed masonry tiles in a multi-storey building, as well as a fragment with concentric blue and yellow circles, the color of the Ukrainian flag.
“The causes of the accident are being determined,” he said, adding that “according to the initial version, the damage occurred as a result of a drone attack,” referring to an unmanned aerial vehicle, or combat drone.
Gladkov said he visited the site, where he says there were no casualties, and spoke to residents. He said that an explosion occurred at 5:43 pm local time at 9 Yesenina Street, Building 1, which destroyed apartments, shattered windows, and smashed tiles on the facade of the building.
The Russian Defense Ministry said earlier that three drones were shot down over the Belgorod region and another over the Kursk region, and said that there were no injuries or damage. It was not clear whether the damage reported by Gladkov was one of the drones cited by the Defense Ministry or if it was a separate incident.
Drone strikes deep inside Russia have increased since the destruction of a drone over the Kremlin in early May. Civilian areas of the capital were bombed later in May, and a commercial district of Moscow was targeted twice in three days earlier this month.
Editing by Jay Faulconbridge. Editing by Mark Porter
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