Planned provocation?

Shell destroys high-rise building in Belgorod: dead

A direct hit by a grenade in an apartment building caused the entire entrance area to collapse from the tenth to the second floor.

(Bild: APA/AFP/STRINGER)

According to Russia, a multi-storey residential building in the Russian city of Belgorod has been hit by a missile and partially collapsed. At least seven people were killed and 15 injured.

"The city and the oblast were subjected to massive shelling by the Ukrainian armed forces," said the governor of Belgorod oblast, Vyacheslav Gladkov. Ukraine rejected the accusations and spoke of a "Russian provocation".

"The direct hit of a grenade into an apartment building caused the entire entrance area to collapse from the tenth to the second floor," said Governor Gladkov. Photos of a destroyed building were published on social networks on Sunday. The roof of the building had collapsed and had also buried aid workers underneath it.

(Bild: APA/AFP/STRINGER)

Speculation about "Russian provocation"
 The Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform quoted the head of the Ukrainian Center for Combating Disinformation, Andriy Kovalenko, on the incident. According to him, the Russian information is "not true". The house in Belgorod was blown up by bombs or other explosions, Kovalenko wrote on Telegram. The situation seemed like a "provocation by Russia to justify further attacks on Ukraine".

Previously, a missile alert had been triggered in the region bordering Ukraine, which is under attack from Russia. As a result of the war of aggression against Ukraine, Russia's border region is also repeatedly under attack. However, the casualties and damage are not comparable to the consequences of the war in Ukraine.

Russian troops advance in Kharkiv
Meanwhile, Russian troops are advancing in Kharkiv and, according to the Ministry of Defense in Moscow, took control of several Ukrainian villages over the weekend. Ukrainian military chief Olexandr Syrskyj spoke on Sunday of a difficult situation in the region in north-eastern Ukraine. However, his country's troops would do everything in their power to hold the line. The start of the Russian offensive in Kharkiv a few days ago threatens to open a new front in north-eastern Ukraine. The city of the same name, Kharkiv, is the second largest city in the country after Kiev and is around 400 kilometers from the capital as the crow flies.