Russian plane accidentally strikes Russian city near Ukraine border leaving 20m crater

A Russian warplane accidentally fired a weapon into the city of Belgorod near Ukraine, causing an explosion and damaging buildings, the Russian defence ministry said.

Late on Thursday, local authorities reported a large blast in the city, which lies just across the border from Ukraine. The regional governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said three people had been injured.

The defence ministry did not say what kind of weapon was involved. The Su-34 is a supersonic fighter-bomber jet. Tass reported that the ministry had announced an investigation was under way.

However, Russian armed forces, which have previously been criticised by their own people for a lack of transparency, were quick to admit the explosion was a result of a military blunder. Their swift response indicates that potential Ukrainian strikes on Russia remain a sensitive issue for the Kremlin.

Video footage of the area posted on social media on Friday appeared to show a powerful explosion near a busy street at night. Other footage showed piles of concrete on the street, several damaged cars and a building with broken windows. One image showed what appeared to be a car upside down on the roof of a store.

Last October, a Russian military jet crashed into a residential building shortly after taking off near the border with Ukraine, causing a major fire that killed 15 people. In total, at least 10 Russian military jets have crashed after malfunctioning since Moscow launched its invasion in February, according to the Bell, a Russian media outlet.