A blast rocked a Russian military camp near the border with Ukraine on Tuesday, leading to conflicting reports from Russian media over whether the cause of the explosion was a Ukrainian airstrike.
Local officials reported a series of explosions outside the city of Belgorod, less than 10 miles north of Russia’s border with Ukraine, Russian state media reported on Tuesday. Video posted online showed a massive fireball in the night sky at the reported site of the explosion. Some reports indicated an ammunition depot at the military base was the source of the series of explosions.
“A projectile fell on the territory of a military encampment in the Belgorod region. Four servicemen were injured,” an unnamed source told Russian state media outlet Tass.
Tass also reported that “initial data indicates that the projectile was launched from the Ukrainian territory.”
Residents of #Russian city of #Belgorod report an explosion near the village of Oktyabrsky. It is about 12 kilometers to the #Ukrainian border.
The governor of Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, confirmed information about explosions. He did not specify what exactly happened. pic.twitter.com/zrFzot2JTk
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) March 29, 2022
A report a few hours later from RIA Novosti, another state-run media outlet in Russia, cited “human factor” as the reason for the blast.
PENTAGON: ‘SMALL NUMBERS’ OF RUSSIAN TROOPS LEAVING KYIV, ‘NOT A REAL WITHDRAWAL’
“The explosion at the warehouse itself, according to preliminary information, occurred due to the human factor,” an unnamed source told the outlet.
It’s unclear what is meant by the “human factor,” but in some cases, it is used to mean human error.
RIA Novosti also reported four injuries as a result of the explosion, saying they were all “law enforcement officers.”
The head of the region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said he would report on the causes of the incident after an investigation is completed, according to RIA Novosti.
The blast occurred just hours after peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia concluded in Turkey.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
During the meeting, which was hosted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and attended by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, negotiators also discussed a possible ceasefire.
Russia’s military said Tuesday it would cut back military operations near the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv in a move meant “to increase trust.”
