A missile booster reportedly bacame embedded in the wall of an apartment in Russia’s Belgorod following an alleged Ukrainian drone strike on Thursday.
Military facilities inside Russia’s Belgorod region, bordering Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, have been a frequent target of Ukrainian attacks due to their proximity to Ukraine.
Russian independent media outlet Astra published a video and photos depicting the booster motor, which is consistent with the Russian Pantsir-S1 air defense missile, in its Thursday update, citing local channels.
It said the incident happened on Yunosti Boulevard in the outskirts of Belgorod – approximately 32 kilometers (20 miles) from the Ukrainian border – after an alleged drone strike in the region during which the local governor said five drones were shot down.
“Five [unmanned aerial vehicles] UAVs were shot down by the air defense system over Belgorod. This morning, when debris from a downed drone fell, two people were injured. The victims were hospitalized; according to doctors, their condition is moderate,” Belgorod Regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote in a social media update.
“According to preliminary information, the facade of an apartment building, a car, and a building of an enterprise were damaged,” he added. It is unclear if the location referred to was the same incident Astra described.
According to locals cited by Belgorod News, a regional newspaper, there were no air raid sirens during the attacks.
“Notifications come after 30-50 minutes, but there is no siren. Many people were injured by the debris, there are dead. Why don’t they turn it on?” one local told Belgorod News.
While the latest incident of a booster stuck on the wall is likely the first of its kind, Russia has had a history of accidentally dropping bombs on the region.
Astra, in March 2024, reported that two high-explosive aerial bombs, which had probably been jettisoned by Russian aircraft, were discovered close to villages in the Belgorod region.
Earlier the same month, another aerial bomb was found near the village of Grayvoron, the accidental drop again being linked with attacks directed against free-Russian forces.
On March 27, another 500-kilogram aerial bomb was found near the village of Bessonovka, which was also destroyed the next day.
After Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Kyiv troops have launched several incursions into the region, albeit without consistently holding any territory.
However, Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky said recently that Ukraine has restored positions in the Belgorod and Kursk regions.