The Belgorod region governor had previously said that up to 17 people have been injured
Employees of the Russian Emergencies Ministry work at the site of a collapsed entrance in a residential building damaged by a Ukrainian military strike in Belgorod, Russia. © Sputnik
The remains of three persons have been taken out from under the rubble of the multi-story building that collapsed following a Ukrainian missile attack on Belgorod city, local governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Sunday. The identities of the deceased were being established.
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The investigative committee is working at the site alongside rescuers, who suspect that there may be more people under the rubble.
Gladkov mentioned that while he was inspecting the damage, he was disturbed by yet another alarm warning of more rocket danger, which was set off across Belgorod and the surrounding district. “Together with rescuers and volunteers [we] went down to the basement of the ‘Luch’ sports complex to wait it out and start working again,” he wrote in a Telegram post.
He’d previously said 17 people had been hospitalized as a result of the incident.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Ukraine attacked residential areas of Belgorod, using a Tochka-U tactical missile system, as well as Olkha, and RM-70 Vampire multiple launch rocket systems. The ministry further asserted that Russian air defenses intercepted six Soviet-era Tochka-U missiles, four Vampire rockets, and two Olkha projectiles. It was mentioned that fragments of one of the downed Tochka-U missiles had caused damage to a residential building in Belgorod.
The Investigative Committee of Russia has initiated a criminal terrorism case in response to the strike.
