Russian Su-34 fighter-bomber accidentally drops a bomb on border city of Belgorod
During the flight over the city of Belgorod, there was an "abnormal discharge of aviation ammunition," reports the Russian newspaper of Kommersant, citing a press release from the Russian Defense Ministry.
"On April 20, 2023, at about 22:15 Moscow time, during the flight of the Su-34 aircraft of the Aerospace Forces over the city of Belgorod, an abnormal discharge of ammunition occurred. As a result, there is damage to residential buildings, there are no casualties," the Russian Defense Ministry said in a press release.
The governor of the Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said that 3 people were injured as a result of the "emergency situation".
The bomb fell tens of meters away from residential buildings. Residents of one of the buildings were evacuated.
Su-34 (NATO reporting name: Fullback) is a Soviet / Russian multifunctional front-line supersonic fighter-bomber designed to strike enemy targets in operational and tactical depth of 150-600 km in areas protected by enemy air defense and electronic warfare systems.
The news outlet Agensvo Novosti reports that the Su-34 could have dropped a high-explosive glide bomb FAB which weighs up to one and a half tons. The FAB bomb is designed to destroy underground bunkers or tunnels. The news outlet Agentsvo Novosti notes that bombs of this type allows Russian aircraft to bomb Ukrainian cities without crossing the border.