RUSSIA: New visuals suggest that an explosion took place in Belgorod, western Russia. It’s thought to have been caused by a missile from Ukraine. In the village of Krasniy Oktyabr, which is just 12 miles from the border between the Russian city and Ukraine, there was a blast that caused fireworks-like explosions that could be seen from Ukraine earlier last night. This hasn’t been confirmed by Ukrainian officials yet. Ukrainian journalist Yuriy Butusov said that an OTR-21 Tochka-U was fired by the Ukrainian 19th missile brigade and hit the depot.
A missile strike on Russian territory could be confirmed by Ukraine’s armed forces. If so, this would be only the second time that Ukraine has attacked Russian territory since the war began. This is what Vyacheslav Gladkov, who is the governor of Belgorod, said about the explosion. He said that no Russian citizens were hurt, but he didn’t say anything about what caused the blast.
A man by the name, Gladkov said that explosions could be heard on the land of Belgorod and the Belgorod region. He said:
Krasniy Oktyabr is the name of the village where the accident took place. The head of the village is in direct contact with me and has told me everything I need to know. There have been no deaths or injuries among the residents. This is why I’m going to write more about it later.
However, the Russian news agency TASS said that four Russian military personnel were hurt and that early reports suggested that the explosion was caused by a Ukrainian missile. The shell hit the land of a temporary military camp in the Belgorod area. Four soldiers were hurt, a source with the emergency services told TASS.
This is what Vyacheslav Gladkov, who is the governor of Belgorod, said about the explosion. He said that no Russian citizens were hurt, but he didn’t say anything about what caused the blast. Ukraine’s delegation at the conference came up with a plan for how the country would become neutral and how other countries would keep it safe. Moscow’s public reaction was positive, and talks are set to start again on Wednesday, five weeks into a bloody war of attrition that has killed thousands and forced almost 4 million Ukrainians to flee.
Russia’s deputy defense minister said that in the midst of the talks, Moscow has decided to fundamentally… cut back military activity in the direction of Kyiv and Chernihiv. This is to increase mutual trust and set the stage for more talks, he said. In the meantime, his boss Sergey Shoigu said that Russian forces will now focus on “liberating” the eastern part of the Donbass region instead of attacking major Ukrainian cities. This is a major tactical shift in the face of fierce resistance. Europe and the United States have been skeptical of the announcement. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said today that Vladimir Putin could still try to “twist the knife” as the war moves into a new phase, though.
And Western officials have remained skeptical of Russia’s true intentions, saying that Russian attacks have continued even though the Kremlin said it would cut back on troops in major cities. An anonymous individual said:
Nothing that we have seen so far has shown us that President Putin and his colleagues are very serious about scaling back, said one official. It’s more like a game of strategy, where you’re playing for time.
‘Even if they do what they say they will do, that is not a halt to hostilities. I think we can expect to see more death and destruction in the Donbass.’
