The first reports on local social media of explosions arrived around 18:30. They were followed by claims of a strike on the “Luch” electrical substation in Belgorod, after which smoke rose over the site. At 18:35, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov declared a region-wide “missile threat” and urged residents to go to shelters and remain there until the all-clear.
Subsequent reports said another missile hit a substation in the Kreida district. Smoke was visible in the city centre and in the area of the combined heat and power plant near Belgorod’s railway station, where one of the strikes also allegedly landed; at 18:50 smoke was observed over the Belgorod CHP. Power went out in the centre, with plumes of smoke rising in several districts.
Update: on some streets of Kharkovskaya Gora, water supplies were cut. According to local channels and users, water disruptions are being reported in almost all districts of Belgorod. Officials are clarifying the consequences of the strikes.
During the missile barrage, four powerful explosions were heard in the city, eyewitnesses said. “All four missiles likely reached their targets and were not shot down by air defences.”