At least 13 killed in Belgorod building collapse, Russia says

At least 13 people have been killed and 20 others injured when a building collapsed after being struck with fragments from a missile in the Russian border city of Belgorod, according to Russian officials.

A video released by the Russian Ministry of Civil Defence, Emergencies and Disaster Relief on Sunday showed firefighters and rescuers working on a huge pile of rubble. The ministry said that 13 bodies had been recovered.

“The number of injured, according to the latest data, is 20 people,” emergency services were quoted as saying by the Russian state news agency TASS.

Earlier, the Emergencies Ministry said that 12 people, including two children, were rescued from the site.

Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov posted a video to Telegram showing a collapsed building with a large hole in it.

“Following direct shell fire on a residential building… the entire entrance, from the tenth to the ground floor, collapsed,” Gladkov said, condemning “massive bombings” by the Ukrainian army.

The Russian Ministry of Defence later wrote on social media that the building had been struck by fragments of a downed Tochka-U TRC missile. It also said that air defences had shot down several more rockets over the Belgorod region, as well as two drones that were destroyed in a separate incident.

Ukraine’s military does not comment or acknowledge alleged attacks on Russia and annexed Crimea.

One resident told the Russian news agency RIA Novosti she was in a building corridor and her husband was in a bedroom when the explosion hit.

“He did not have the time [to escape],” she said, adding that her husband had been injured in the head and face.

Air raid alerts continued across Belgorod as rescuers worked, looking for victims in the rubble.

The Belgorod region, on Russia’s western border, has been the target of a large number of strikes.

Although most cross-border shelling has taken place in rural areas, Belgorod city, the regional capital, has previously been attacked.

In December 2023, shelling in the heart of the city killed 25 people, prompting authorities to start erecting public shelters.

Cities across western Russia have come under regular attack from drones since May 2023, with Russian officials blaming Kyiv.