MA powerful explosion injured two people and left a large crater in the city after local authorities announced that one of its fighter jets had lost ammunition over the Russian city of Belgorod near the Ukrainian border on Thursday night.
“When an Su-34 aircraft of the Aerospace Forces flew over the city of Belgorod, there was an unusual drop in aerial ammunition,” the Russian Defense Ministry said.
Russian news agencies reported that the incident occurred at 10:15pm local time.
Russian planes have continued to fly over Belgorod since Moscow launched its offensive in Ukraine in February 2022.
Citing interim figures, Mr Gladkov said one woman had been hospitalized with head injuries and another was treated at the scene.
“Windows of a nearby apartment building were damaged, several parked cars were damaged in the blast and power poles were knocked down,” he added on the Telegram messaging app.
He added that investigators and representatives of the Ministry of Emergencies were at the scene.
Mr Klatkov and Belgorod Mayor Valentin Demidov posted photos of the damage on social media.
One shows residents huddled in front of an apartment building, a woman holding a small dog, and a fire engine nearby.
In Telegram, Mr. Demidov posted pictures showing asphalt torn up by the explosion, debris in front of the building and the interior of an apartment building destroyed by the blast.
Residents of damaged buildings will be temporarily moved to hotels, Demidov said.
Belgorod, a Russian enclave bordering Ukraine, is regularly hit by fires, sometimes fatally, that Moscow attributes to Ukraine.
In January, Vyacheslav Kladkov said 25 people had been killed and more than 90 wounded since the offensive began.
In October 2022, an SU-34 crashed into a residential building in the southern Russian city of Yeysk, near the border with Ukraine, killing 16 people, including several children.
“Total coffee junkie. Tv ninja. Unapologetic problem solver. Beer expert.”