Explosion causes apartment building in Russia’s Belgorod to partially collapse, killing 15

An explosion early on Sunday caused a section of a 10-story apartment building in Russia’s Belgorod to collapse. By Monday morning, rescue workers had recovered 15 bodies from the debris, reported Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov. The collapse also injured 27 people.

According to Gladkov, the collapse followed a heavy bombardment by Ukrainian forces. Footage from an external surveillance camera, published on Telegram, shows an explosion at the lower part of the building. Emergency services told TASS that a projectile struck near the third floor. Air raid sirens sounded several times during the rescue effort.

The Russian Defense Ministry stated that the building was hit by fragments of a Ukrainian Tochka-U missile that had been intercepted over the city.

Russia’s Investigative Committee has initiated a criminal case on charges of terrorism. The Ukrainian authorities have not officially responded to Russia’s allegations about Kyiv’s involvement. Ukrainian media have speculated that the building might have collapsed due to an internal explosion.

Anton Herashchenko, adviser to the Ukrainian Interior Minister, suggested the collapse could have been caused by the accidental release of a Russian aerial bomb from a plane en route to bomb Kharkiv. “I also think it’s possible this was a provocation by Russia to justify attacks on peaceful Ukrainian cities and to escalate the situation,” he added.

Belgorod has regularly come under attack since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The intensity of these attacks significantly increased in the spring of 2024 amid the Russian presidential elections, Russian strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, and Russian military offensives in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region.