Explosions in Belgorod. Ukrainian drones appeared over five regions of the Russian Federation

A “series of strong explosions” occurred in the Russian city of Belgorod on Friday evening. The authorities of the city, located on the border with Ukraine, reported casualties and the destruction of “several aerial objects”. The Russian Ministry of Defense reported on Saturday morning that drones were also shot down in four other regions.

The governor of Russia's Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said that Russian forces "shot down many air targets approaching the city". He also reported that one person was killed and one was injured. He added that the circumstances of the incident were being investigated.

The Ukrainian website Suspilne reported that a "series of strong explosions" occurred in Belgorod, located 40 km from the border with Ukraine. Russian media reported that falling fragments of the shot-down objects damaged many cars and buildings.

Attack on Belgorod. Statement of the Ministry of Defense of Russia

The Russian Ministry of Defense said in a statement that air defense shot down “13 missiles” in the Belgorod area.

Later, the ministry announced that 32 “Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles” had been shot down. The objects were to be intercepted over four more regions of the Russian Federation - Bryansk, Orlov, Kursk, and Moscow.

Massive shelling of Ukrainian cities

On the night from Thursday to Friday, Russian troops carried out a massive air attack on Ukrainian cities. As a result, 30 people died and over 160 were injured. The shells fell, among others, in Kyiv, Dnipro, Zaporozhye, Sumy, Odesa, as well as in Lviv. Apartment blocks, a shopping center, and even a maternity hospital were hit.

The Russians used 36 Shahed drones and 122 missiles for the attack.

Russian missile over Poland

On the night from Thursday to Friday, there was also a violation of Polish airspace by a Russian missile. The object was registered by the radars of the air defense system.

"US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, in a conversation with the head of the National Security Bureau, Jacek Siewiera, expressed readiness to provide technical assistance regarding reports of the violation of Polish airspace by a missile"
The White House commented.