‘Massive’ drone attack on Belgorod Oblast damages buildings and gas pipeline, Russian governor claims

Editor’s note: This is a developing story and will be updated.

Drone strikes on the Russian city of Belgorod and settlements in Belgorod Oblast damaged several buildings, vehicles and a gas pipeline and injured four people on June 24, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov claimed.

In recent months, there have been increasing reports of air strikes on Belgorod Oblast, which borders the Ukrainian oblasts of Sumy, Kharkiv and Luhansk.

According to Gladkov, a “massive” drone strike on Belgorod caused damage to four residential buildings in the city and shattered windows in three more in the nearby town of Severnyi. A house, four vehicles and a gas pipeline were also damaged in the city, Gladkov claimed.

A woman from the city of Belgorod was reportedly injured and hospitalized with a head injury and a broken right arm. Two more people were injured in the city of Stroitel, according to Gladkov. No details were released about the alleged fourth victim.

According to Gladkov, an administrative building in the town of Shebekino caught fire and burned “completely.”

Elsewhere in the region, four more apartment buildings, eight homes and two vehicles were reportedly damaged.

The Kyiv Independent could not confirm Gladkov’s claims and the Ukrainian military has not yet commented on the alleged attack.

The Russian Defense Ministry said it intercepted 29 drones over Belgorod Oblast and one drone over nearby Voronezh Oblast.

Kyiv does not always officially take responsibility for reported attacks on Russian soil. In some cases, Ukraine has denied Russian allegations regarding attacks in Belgorod Oblast.

Ukraine has targeted Russia’s oil infrastructure and arms industry with increasing attacks during the winter and spring.

On June 23, the Ukrainian military attacked a command post of a Russian motorized rifle regiment in Nekhoteyevka in the Belgorod region, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported.

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