Russian troops appear to have unintentionally dropped a bomb on a Russian village near the Ukrainian border, according to reports.
In a statement shared by the state media TASS, Russia’s Defence Ministry said: “At around 9am on January 2, while an Air Force plane was flying over the village of Petropavlovka in the Voronezh Region, there was an emergency release of aviation munitions.”
Voronezh borders the Ukrainian region of Kharkiv, an area Moscow illegally annexed and claimed as part of Russia in September 2022, although it continues to be a battleground.
Petropavlovka itself is less than 150km from the Ukrainian border.
The statement said that no one was killed or injured, but at least six privately owned buildings were impacted.
It added: “An investigation is underway into the circumstances of the incident.
“A commission is working on-site to assess the nature of the damage and assist in the restoration of buildings.”
Social media showed a large crater in the village, multiple buildings destroyed.
The local governor, Aleksander Gusev, said: “I tasked my colleagues in the Voronezh region government to swiftly address issues concerning compensation payments and the construction of new housing.
“Our commitment is to ensure no one is overlooked.”
Gusex has said the authorities will assess the damage done and pay out compensation.
According to the Kyiv Post, local residents complained an entire street had been destroyed.
The incident came as Russia has been attacking Ukraine with renewed intensity recently. One Ukrainian MP said the last few days could be the “biggest attack” on Kyiv since the war began in February 2022.
This barrage came after the Russian city of Belgorod was targeted by Ukraine, a move Moscow has described as a “terrorist attack” which left Russian president Vladimir Putin said he was “seething” and would “intensify attacks” as a result.
The Russian forces also accidentally bombed the Russian city of Belgorod, which is around 40km from the Ukraine border, in April last year.
In a statement released at the time, the Russian defence ministry admitted one of its warplanes had “accidentally discharged aircraft ordnance” – meaning it had mistakenly dropped a weapon. No one was killed in the incident, according to officials.
It created a 20m crater and caused an enormous explosion which catapulted a car onto the roof of a local shop.
And in October 2022, a Russian fight jet also crashed into the Russian city of Yeysk killing at least 13 people.
