Land mines found, ammunition depot catches fire in Russia’s Belgorod region

Update: Belgorod Regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov announced during a livestream on Thursday that due to the “growing threat," schools in the border area will switch to remote learning on September 1.

PFM-1 land mines were found in Russia’s Belgorod region on Thursday, according to Regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov. “A great number of ‘petals’ [referring to the weapons’ shape and light weight] were scattered over a large area. All of the necessary measures are being taken to remove them,” Gladkov said. RBK reported that the mines were found in the region’s Shebekinsky district after it was shelled by Ukraine.

Also on Thursday, an ammunition depot caught on fire in the Belgorod region’s Valuysky district. Residents of nearby villages were evacuated. According to initial reports from officials, there were no injuries or deaths.

Meduza cannot immediately verify these official statements.

• Since the start of Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine, the Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, has repeatedly been hit with shells from the Ukrainian side. The local authorities have declared a “yellow” (high) terrorist threat level.
• On August 9, a series of explosions rocked the Saki airbase in Russia-controlled Crimea near the village of Novofedorivka. A week later, more explosions occurred at an ammunition depot near the village of Maiske in Crimea’s Dzhankoy district. The Russian Defense Ministry blamed the airbase attack on an “accidental detonation,” while it called the Masike explosion an “act of sabotage.”