A Russian warplane bombed his own city of Belgorod in a humiliating blunder by Vladimir Putin’s troops.
Footage shows how an SU-34 accidentally fired a bomb at a city of more than 400,000 inhabitants, narrowly missing an apartment building.
More video evidence shows a 70 foot wide crater caused by the blast with debris scattered around the scene.
Two women were injured in a disaster that could have been much worse.
One required hospital treatment with head injuries.
Residential buildings were damaged by the blast, Belgorod mayor Valentin Demidov said.
A Russian warplane bombed its own city of Belgorod in a humiliating blunder by Vladimir Putin’s troops
Residential buildings were damaged by the blast, Belgorod mayor Valentin Demidov said
This handout photo posted on April 20, 2023 on the official Telegram account of Vyacheslav Gladkov, governor of the Belgorod region, shows damage after an explosion in the city
A car was thrown by the shock wave onto the roof of a Pyaterochka supermarket.
The blunder took place in the Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine and is highly tense because of Putin’s war.
Since the beginning of its invasion, about 30 people have been killed and 123 injured here as Ukraine reacted to overwhelming Russian aggression.
The video shows a flash as the bomb hits the ground.
The Defense Department quickly acknowledged the error.
“During the flight of an Aerospace Forces Su-34 aircraft over the city of Belgorod, an abnormal descent of aviation munitions occurred,” a statement said.
“It was a miracle that no one died – at least according to official figures,” reported journalist Dmitry Kolezev.
“Apparently the ministry has decided that giving in to self-bombing is better than admitting that Ukraine’s armed forces can carry out such powerful attacks on Russian cities.”
It is suspected that the bomb was a modernized FAB-500M62, a Soviet-designed 500-kilogram (1,100 lb) general-purpose aerial bomb with a high-explosive warhead.
It is suspected that the bomb was a modernized FAB-500M62, a Soviet-designed 500-kilogram (1,100 lb) general-purpose aerial bomb with a high-explosive warhead. Pictured: A crater created by the blast
Cars were damaged in the blast after the SU-34 fighter jet accidentally bombed the city
A view shows a damaged apartment building at the scene of the accident after a major explosion on a street in the city of Belgorod, Russia, on Thursday
The SU-34 (file image) accidentally hit a bomb in the city of more than 400,000 inhabitants, narrowly missing an apartment building
It is supposed to be ‘high precision’ and has been used to hit targets in Ukraine.
This ammunition was reportedly rushed into service during the war and is prone to errors.
OSINT analyst Kirill Mikhailov, quoted by Agentstvo, said: “For everything to work, the bomb must first properly separate, then its wings must open properly and the navigation system must work…
“Something went wrong in this process.”
Regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said: “A research team and employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations are working on the ground.”
The city is located about 40 kilometers from the Ukrainian border and 80 kilometers from Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city.
The Su-34 is regarded as Russia’s ‘front-line bomber’.
Estimates indicate that about ten percent was lost during the war against Ukraine that Putin launched almost 14 months ago.
In October 2022, a Su-34 fighter-bomber crashed near a multi-storey residential building in Yeysk, Russia’s Krasnodar region and caught fire.
A total of 15 people were killed.
Six days later, a Su-30 military plane crashed into a two-story house in Irkutsk.
A view shows the scene of the accident after a large explosion on a street in the city of Belgorod, Russia