Who is behind it?
Russian high-rise building collapses – dead and injured
May 12, 2024, 1:35 p.m
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Was it Ukrainian shelling or something else? In Belgorod, a multi-story residential building collapses, burying several people. In the Volgograd region, an oil refinery is now on fire.
In the Russian city of Belgorod, a multi-story residential building partially collapsed, burying several people. According to Russian information, at least seven people were killed and 15 injured.
The governor of Belgorod Oblast, Vyacheslav Gladkov, blamed Ukraine: “The city and the oblast were subjected to massive shelling by the armed forces of Ukraine,” said Gladkov. “When a grenade hit an apartment building, the entire entrance area from the tenth to the first floor collapsed.” There is no statement from Ukraine yet.
“An entire section of a 10-story building collapsed,” said a witness who wished to remain anonymous. Ambulances and fire engines are on site. “I see several victims. Firefighters are searching the rubble.” Photos of a destroyed building from which an entire block of apartments was torn out were published on social networks.
The opposition Belarusian portal Nexta, on the other hand, quotes the Ukrainian Center for the Prevention of Disinformation, which apparently suspects other causes for the collapse. “The video from the cameras does not show any falling objects. It looks more like a Russian provocation to justify further attacks on residential buildings in Ukrainian cities,” it said. However, Russia has so far carried out massive shelling of Ukrainian civilian infrastructure without any pretext.
Missile alarms had previously been triggered in the region that borders Ukraine, which is under attack by Russia. As a result of the war of aggression against Ukraine, Russia’s border region is also repeatedly under fire. However, victims and damage are in no way comparable to the consequences of the war in Ukraine. Kiev essentially attacks army or energy infrastructure.
London: Mistakes can have fatal consequences for Russians
There have been repeated reports of Russian bombers in the region, which were probably dropping bombs on civilian infrastructure due to technical errors. At the beginning of May, a Russian plane is said to have accidentally dropped ammunition on civilian territory. At the time, Gladkov confirmed the explosion and damage in Belgorod without naming the cause.
According to the British Ministry of Defense, this is not an isolated incident. A FAB-250 bomb was released in the Belgorod region in mid-February, which led to the evacuation of 150 residents. There were 20 cases of lost ammunition between March and April of this year alone. “These incidents demonstrate that Russia continues to be unable to successfully deploy its munitions on its intended targets. Such failures have destructive and deadly consequences for the Russian population,” said an intelligence report from London.
Fire in Russian oil refinery
According to Russian authorities, an oil refinery in southwest Russia caught fire after a Ukrainian drone attack. “On the night of May 12, the air defense forces and electronic warfare forces repelled a drone over the territory of the Volgograd region,” regional governor Andrei Bocharov said on Telegram.
“The crash of the drone and a subsequent explosion led to a fire on the site of the oil refinery in Volgograd,” he continued. The fire was extinguished and there were no casualties.
The refinery is operated by the Russian oil company Lukoil, which claims to be the largest oil producer in southwest Russia. In February, a fire also broke out at the facility after what Russian officials said was a Ukrainian drone shot down. There were no victims then either.
Ukraine has increased its drone strikes in recent months amid a lack of military equipment and soldiers. The Ukrainian army described the attacks on energy infrastructure in Russia as a response to Russian attacks on civilians.