ASTRA: Russian bomb hits Belgorod, 1,700 evacuated VIDEO

Belgorod authorities are working to safely remove a bomb that fell on the city, prompting the evacuation of around 1,700 residents.

Vyacheslav Gladkov, governor of Belgorod Oblast, said emergency services and military bomb disposal experts are at the scene, with heavy equipment deployed, Caliber.Az reports via ASTRA.

 An operational headquarters has been set up by the city administration. Roads in the affected area, including a stretch of Gubkina Street from Sportivnaya to Budyonnogo, remain closed.

“More than 1,700 people have been evacuated so far, with around 50 currently in temporary accommodation,” Governor Gladkov wrote on his Telegram channel.

The incident was first reported on the evening of January 21, when a crater was discovered on Gubkina Street. Nearby buildings were evacuated as a precaution. Authorities have not officially confirmed the type or origin of the ordnance, although local residents have described it as an aerial bomb.

Earlier this month, on January 5, a FAB-500 bomb fell in the village of Batratskaya Dacha in Shebekino District. It was the first aerial bomb reportedly dropped on Belgorod Oblast by a Russian aircraft in 2026.

ASTRA previously reported that in 2025, Russian forces dropped at least 143 bombs on their own and occupied territories, down from at least 165 in 2024. The Russian Ministry of Defence officially acknowledged a separate bomb incident in Belgorod in April 2023.

By Aghakazim Guliyev