Russia Bombs Own Town Four Times by Mistake: Report

Russian forces mistakenly dropped four bombs on a village near the Ukrainian border, according to a local report. This incident is part of a series of such errors during the ongoing war.

The bombs, intended for Ukraine's Kharkiv region, were instead dropped on Shebekino, a town in Russia's Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine. The independent Russian outlet Astra reported this on its Telegram channel on Monday. Although no casualties were reported, a residential building's facade was damaged.

Newsweek has not independently verified the report and has contacted Russia's Defense Ministry for comment, but the Kremlin has not responded.

The Belgorod region is frequently used by Russian forces to launch attacks on Ukraine and houses several military bases and training grounds, which have been targeted by Kyiv. Recently, the region has experienced near-daily explosions as the conflict spills over the border.

Astra reported that on May 17, three Russian FAB glide bombs were found in Shebekino, with another near a residential building. The facade of a house, a fence, and a window were damaged. This incident is the latest in a series of accidents involving Russian forces dropping munitions on their own territory. Over the past three months, Russian forces have dropped at least 46 aerial bombs on Russian soil or occupied Ukrainian territories.

On May 16 alone, Russian aircraft dropped eight FAB bombs on the Belgorod region. Fortunately, none of the bombs detonated, and there were no casualties. Earlier this month, The Moscow Times reported that since spring began, at least 25 aerial bombs have been dropped by Russian aircraft on its own territory or annexed regions, with 33 such incidents since January.

Russian authorities typically acknowledge these incidents as "abnormal discharges of ammunition" and attribute them to emergency releases. On May 18, Vladimir Zhdanov, the head of Shebekino, stated on social media that he had met with residents of damaged households due to the "fall of an explosive object." He did not specify whether the damage was caused by Russian or Ukrainian forces but praised the emergency services for safely removing the explosive object.