April 27, 2022, 2:58 pm ET
April 27, 2022, 2:58 am ETRussian tanks and armored vehicles in the Belgorod region of Russia on Monday, in a satellite image from Planet Labs PBC. Local authorities reported explosions on Wednesday night in Belgorod and two other Russian regions. Credit … Planet Labs PBC, through the Associated Press
Local authorities in Russia’s counties bordering Ukraine reported explosions on Wednesday night, one of which appeared to hit an ammunition depot, raising the specter of a wider conflict spilling over Ukraine’s borders.
Explosions have been reported in Belgorod, Russia, less than 20 miles from the border with Ukraine, and in Kursk and Voronezh, deeper into Russian territory, according to local authorities and the state-run Tass news agency. An ammunition depot is on fire in Belgorod, but no homes have been damaged and no civilians have been killed, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote on his Telegram channel.
It is not immediately clear what caused the explosions. Air defense systems have reportedly been activated in Kursk, less than 100 miles from the border and Voronezh, nearly 200 miles from Ukraine.
The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine generally refuses to discuss reports of attacks on Russian soil. Ukrainian officials, for example, declined to comment on Russia’s claim that two Ukrainian helicopters fired on an oil depot in Belgorod in early April. During the two months of the war, fighting was largely limited to Ukraine.
The blasts came in recent days after explosions and fires were reported in Russian regions near Ukraine’s northeastern border, as well as in Transnistria, a Moscow-backed separatist part of Moldova in southwestern Ukraine.
On Monday, fires engulfed oil depots in Bryansk, Russia, a key logistics hub for the Russian military, destroying one tank at a civilian oil depot and another at a military oil depot.
Explosions also shook Transnistria, a self-proclaimed republic home to Russian troops on both Monday and Tuesday. It was unclear who was behind the attacks, with local authorities blaming Ukraine and Ukrainians calling it a “planned provocation” by Russian troops to create a pretext for invading the southwest.
On Tuesday, James Happy, Britain’s junior defense minister, said in a radio interview that Ukraine would be justified in attacking targets in Russia to defend itself.
“It is perfectly legitimate for Ukraine to go deep into Russia to disrupt logistics, which, if not disrupted, would directly contribute to the death and massacre of Ukrainian soil,” he told Times Radio.
show more
Add Comment