According to a report from independent Russian outlet Astra, a Russian drone was mistakenly dropped by the military onto the territory of a kindergarten in the village of Oktyabrsky, located in the Belgorod region near the Ukrainian border, as reported by Newsweek.
The drone, identified as a Lancet kamikaze drone, did not detonate upon impact.
As a precautionary measure, 47 children and 30 kindergarten employees were evacuated from the area by security forces.
Newsweek has sought to verify the report independently but has not yet received a response from Russia’s Defence Ministry.
The Kremlin has so far refrained from commenting on the reported incident.
This occurrence adds to a series of incidents throughout the year where Russia’s military has mistakenly deployed munitions and missiles on its own territory.
Astra’s previous reports indicate that in March and April alone, Moscow’s forces inadvertently released at least 21 aerial bombs onto Russian soil or occupied territories of Ukraine.
The Moscow Times corroborates this, stating that since the beginning of spring, at least 25 aerial bombs have been unintentionally discharged by Russian aircraft onto its own territory or areas annexed by Putin from Ukraine.
The publication reports a total of 33 such incidents since January.
Russian authorities have typically acknowledged these incidents, attributing them to “an abnormal discharge of ammunition” or emergency releases of aviation munitions.
The Belgorod region, situated near the Ukrainian border, hosts several Russian military bases and training grounds.
Throughout Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, the region has experienced multiple explosions, with local authorities frequently reporting the presence of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the area.
Just days prior to this incident, on May 4th, open-source intelligence accounts and Ukraine-aligned media outlets reported that munitions were mistakenly dropped on Belgorod by a Russian jet conducting guided glide-bomb strikes on the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.
Main Image: By Nickel nitride – Own work, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=93672066
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