Various reports on a Russian arms depot exploding and injuring four people surfaced on Tuesday, allegedly the first counterstrike of Ukraine on enemy grounds.
An arms depot 50 miles from the Russian border was blown up on Tuesday night as shown by trending videos on Twitter, Metro reported. The videos showed the depot located outside the city of Belgorod, which is said to be the base of the Russian military, brightened by a firework-like explosion. Metro said four people were injured in the incident.
Berlin-based Journalist Sergej Sumlenny said a Ukrainian ballistic missile "Tochka-U" hit the Russian ammunition depot. He was quick to call it a great humiliation for the Russian army. Sumlenny's report was seconded by Ukrainian journalist Yury Butusov, who reported on the matter on his Facebook page on Tuesday night. Butusov estimated that the explosion was caused by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
"Ukraine carried out a precision strike with the Tochka-U missile on an ammunition warehouse in the village of Oktyabrskoe, near Belgorod, Russia. Russia supplies its artillery attacking Ukraine with rockets and missiles stored at the facility," Butusov said.
"Judging by the explosion and the distance of the warehouse, the 19th missile brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has conducted an effective effort to demilitarize and denazify Russia," he added.
In addition, the Russian media Tass said a source informed them of the explosion that took place in a temporary military camp in Belgorod. The four wounded from the explosion were servicemen.
Top Russian news agency RIA confirmed the explosion, which they said occurred in the village of Krasniy Oktiabr. However, RIA rebuked claims that it was caused by a Ukrainian missile. The media outlet said it was due to ammunitions mishandling.
While the Russian state-linked news outlet Interfax confirmed the accident based on statements of Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov who posted about it on his Telegram channel. Gladkov said the situation is under control and is pending official announcements on it. Ironically, the governor clarified that no one was hurt in the incident.
On the other hand, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk denied claims that the explosion was due to the actions of their Armed Forces. Vereshchuk stressed that it is a typical example of Russian negligence in handling World War II-era ammunition.
Newsweek highlighted the contradictory reporting that Ukraine's shelling led to the explosion of the Russian ammunition depot. The media outlet cited a tweet made by Open Source Intelligence Monitor, which is a Geospatial Analyst organization currently focusing on the ongoing Ukrainian crisis.
"It's now seems there may have been 2 Separate Incidents in the Belgorod Region tonight, Russian State Media is saying that while the Area was Shelled by Ukrainian Forces the Munition Depot Explosion was caused by 'Human Error' something clearly doesn't add up here," Open Source Intelligence Monitor said on Tuesday.
The conflicting reports come in the face of Russian forces allegedly pulling out of Kyiv and the Ukrainian military regaining control of besieged territory. But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky raised in a recent video addressed to the nation their unbelief of such reports. Though he gave credit to his defenders--his troops--for any retreat of Russian forces.
Zelenskyy revealed that Russia is regrouping to attack Ukraine's eastern region of Donbass. The president then stressed their commitment to win the war.
"We don't believe anyone, not a single beautiful phrase. We will not give anything away. We will fight for every meter of our territory," Zelenskyy declared.
