A series of "strong explosions" left at least three dead and four injured in the Russian city of Belgorod, the governor of this region bordering Ukraine and already hit by gunfire said on Sunday.
On Telegram, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said the explosions took place very early on Sunday and that eleven residential buildings and 39 houses were damaged.
"The circumstances of the incident are being established, obviously the anti-aircraft defenses have been activated," he said, without further details.
Five streets affected in the north of the city
At the end of the morning, Russia directly accused Ukraine of being responsible for firing missiles at the city.
The Russian army claims to have shot down three Ukrainian missiles launched against the city at dawn.
“Russian air defenses shot down the three Tochka-U cluster missiles launched by Ukrainian nationalists against Belgorod.
After the destruction of the Ukrainian missiles, the debris of one of them fell on a house,” Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said.
The governor said he went very quickly to the five streets affected by the explosions and located in the north of Belgorod, not far from the city center.
According to the governor, two injured people, a man and a child, were hospitalized, the other two treated on the spot.
Since the start of the Kremlin's offensive in Ukraine on February 24, Russia has repeatedly accused Ukrainian forces of carrying out strikes on Russian soil, particularly in the Belgorod region.
At the end of the morning, Russia directly accused Ukraine of being responsible for firing missiles at the city.
The Russian army claims to have shot down at dawn three Ukrainian missiles launched against the city